‘discourses on the arctic – (inter)disciplinary theories ... · the theme of the 2018 academy...

‘Discourses on the Arctic – (inter)disciplinary theories andmethods of Arctic research’

in Rovaniemi and Inari (Finland), in Neiden and Kirkenes (Norway), and in Apatityand Kirovsk (Russia)

June 3-10, 2018

TN on Geopolitics and Security

Editors:

Gerald Zojer

Jussi Huotari

Contents

Preface..................................................................................................................................................1

About the Calotte Academy..................................................................................................................3

Theme of the 2018 Academy................................................................................................................3

About the Procedures...........................................................................................................................4

Session reports......................................................................................................................................5

Session 1: “Perceptions and Discourses on the Arctic”...................................................................................................5

Session 2: “The Calotte Academy as a method of research supervision and learning”...................................................7

Session 3: “China and the Arctic”....................................................................................................................................8

Opening session, Inari....................................................................................................................................................11

Session 4: “Indigeneity and Indigenous Politics”..........................................................................................................13

Session 5: “Geopolitics and Exceptionalism of the Global Arctic”...............................................................................17

Visit to Skolt Sámi Museum, Neiden.............................................................................................................................20

Opening session, Kirkenes.............................................................................................................................................20

Session 6: “Migration, inflows and future developments”............................................................................................23

Session 7: “The Environment and Security”.................................................................................................................24

Session 8: “Digital Arctic”.............................................................................................................................................26

Session 9: “Regional Development of the Russian Arctic”...........................................................................................29

Session 10: “Energy Solutions for Russian Arctic”.......................................................................................................32

Session 11: “Russian Discourses on the Arctic”............................................................................................................33

Abstracts in Alphabetical Order.........................................................................................................36

About TN on Geopolitics and Security..............................................................................................65

About the Arctic Yearbook.................................................................................................................67

About the GlobalArctic Project..........................................................................................................68

Organizers and Sponsors....................................................................................................................69

Preface

The 2018 Calotte Academy, arranged in June 3 – 10, 2018, consisted of lively academic and expert

discussion on current and interesting Arctic topics, some outdoor activities, singing and dancing,

and traveling through the Barents Region, from Rovaniemi via Inari, Neiden and Kirkenes, Nikel,

Murmansk and Apatity, and back to Rovaniemi.

In 2018 this annual, travelling scientific gathering and doctoral school took an explicit focus on

discourses on the Arctic, and disciplinary theories and methods of Arctic research. Several topics -

such as power of map-representations, the frontiers as nation-maker, Arctic as a pop phenomenon,

indigeneity and at the crossroad of western & indigenous epistemologies, protesting insecurity, from

information to cyber society, local-community-based research – were presented by 48 speakers

from all over the Arctic region and Europe in the 11 sessions of the event.

More important than figures, though related to them, is the added value of the “Calotte Academy

style” (that after each presentation there is, at least, the equal time allocated for open discussion)

which lies in its explicit aim to create an alternative model for conventional academic conferences

and other gatherings in which the time allocated for genuine discussion often remain very limited.

This principle, which makes the Calotte Academy a sort of academic ‘school of dialogue’, was

again highly implemented in the sessions of this year’s event with hundreds of questions,

comments, supporting and counter-arguments — a lively academic debate between different

theoretical approaches.

Inspired by this, or the flourishing spring outside, participants also expressed their skills in

photographing, languages, singing and dancing, climbing on mountains and swimming in icy

waters. These activities are not necessarily mentioned in the program, but they are an important part

of the nature of a travelling and dialoguing symposium.

Finally, it is my great pleasure to thank all the participants for their interests and high motivation to

attend, and their valuable contributions – their presentations and active participation in discussions

– for the event, as well as their session reports for this Final Report. Special thanks go to my fellow

members of the Steering Group – Laura Olsen in Inari, Ludmila Ivanova in Russia, Anne

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Figenschou in Norway – and Gerald Zojer and Jussi Huotari as the co-coordinators of the 2018

Academy, as well as to Yulia Zaika in Russia, for their valuable contributions in preparations and

implementation of the event.

I would also like to thank the co-organizers of the Academy - Faculty of Social Sciences at the

University of Lapland, Sámi Educational Institute, Barents Institute, Luzin Institute for Economic

Studies, Khibiny educational and scientific station of Faculty of Geography at Lomonosov Moscow

State University, and NRF-UArctic joint Thematic Network on Geopolitics and Security. Finally,

warm thank-you goes to our sponsors – Nordic Council of Ministers (Arctic Co-operation

Programme 2015-2017), International Arctic Science Committee and the City of Rovaniemi – who

made it possible to implement the program and concept of the 2018 Calotte Academy with grants

for young researchers.

On behalf of the Calotte Academy Steering Group

Prof. Lassi Heininen

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About the Calotte Academy

The Calotte Academy is an annual travelling symposium and international forum in Europe’s North

Calotte region, designed to promote interdisciplinary discourse and the interplay between senior and

young researchers and to foster academic and policy-oriented dialogue among members of the

research community and post-graduate students as well as a wide range of other northern

stakeholders. It is a “school of dialogue” and participatory by nature with an idea to share

knowledge and experiences with communities. On the other hand, it is an interdisciplinary

brainstorming meeting to bring researchers and other experts from different fields, regions and

countries together for to discover innovations and new methods and to inspire international research

projects as well as plans and applications.

Theme of the 2018 Academy

The theme of the 2018 Academy is ‘Discourses on the Arctic – (inter)disciplinary theories and

methods of Arctic research’. The focus is inspired by the substantial, multidimensional and multi-

theoretical discussions and debates on perceptions of the Arctic in the 2017 Academy’s sessions

(see, Final Report of 2017 Calotte Academy at https://calotte-academy.com). This overarching

theme ‘Perceptions of the Arctic: Rich or Scarce, Mass-scale or Traditional, Conflict or

Cooperation?’ started a new thematic phase emphasizing discourses, premises, paradigms and

methods. The 2018 Academy continued it by having the main focus on discourses on the Arctic, as

well as interdisciplinary theories and methods of Arctic research.

The Academy discussed Arctic issues and discourses in the context of the regional and globalized

Arctic theoretically and holistically from many angles and disciplinary approaches, from academic

and policy-oriented ones — including exploration, exploitation, shipping and aviation,

infrastructure, tourism — and from the perspectives of past(s), present(s) and future(s), and from

global, or international, Arctic and local contexts in the European Arctic.

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About the Procedures

The Calotte Academy is structured so that there are academic sessions with scientific presentations

and brainstorming discussion in each location, as well as a public session, based on invitations, in

one or two of the locations. Since dialogue and application of science are the most important goals

of the Calotte Academy, it is recommended to remember and apply the open-ended nature of a

dialogue and how to cross disciplines, sectors and other borders. A fundamental precondition for

this is to have time enough for questions, comments and open discussion as well as enough patience

for listening to others’ argumentation. Following from these principles, the sessions will be

structured so that each presentation will be allocated altogether 30-35 minutes out of which 12

minutes (maximum) will be reserved for the presentation and the rest for questions and comments,

and open discussion.

The 2018 Academy is also an interdisciplinary brainstorming meeting for scholars and other experts

from different fields and disciplines all over the circumpolar North to discover innovations and new

methods and to make plan and possible applications for international research project(s): in the

Calotte Academy sessions themes and content of further Calotte Academies will be brainstormed, as

well as those of other events of the TN on Geopolitics and Security.

After the Calotte Academy, a Final Report including the abstracts, and main findings, highlights and

ideas for potential research questions and projects of the 2018 Academy’s sessions will be produced

(see Final Reports on previous Calotte Academies at https://calotte-academy.com). The Report will

be written by the presenters / participants who will choose the themes and sessions which they want

to report on during the Calotte Academy tour.

https://calotte-academy.com

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https://calotte-academy.com/

https://calotte-academy.com/

Session reports

MONDAY, June 4:University of Lapland, Rovaniemi

Session 1: “Perceptions and Discourses on the Arctic”(Rapporteurs: Clemens Jöbstl & Ayonghe Akonwi Nebasifu)

• Danko AleksicIs the “Far North” too far? - The Arctic from the Perception of the Western Balkan Countries

• Helena Wegend LindbergA ‘convenient truth’: the enabling power of map-representations in a changing Arctic

• Natalia LoukachevaUnderstanding Perceptions of the Arctic: Legal Studies, Geo-politics and International Developments

• Florian VidalThe Arctic as a culture pop phenomenon

As part of Northern Thematic Network for Geopolitics and Security, Calotte Academy held in June2018 – gathering PhD students and activists to freely discuss and brainstorm on issues of Arcticfrom scientific perspective. On Monday 4 June, opening session at University of Laplandintroduced multi-national discourse on perceptions of the arctic based on presentation from: DankoAleksic (Serbia), Florian Vidal (France), Helena Wegend Lindberg (Norway), and NataliaLoukacheva (Russia). Four themes included; Western Balkan perceptions; map-representativeness;influence of Legal Studies, Geo-politics and International Developments; and culture popphenomenon.

Danko Aleksic was showing a picture of the former Yugoslavian countries and how the topic of theArctic has no place in recent security strategies. Only Croatia wants to work on its own Arcticstrategy in the upcoming years. Also in the last five years only two master thesises and one PhDthesis were written about this area. The most present figure in the perception of Arctic discourse isthe one of Vladimir Putin, percieved by the serbian media as the strong leader, who fights againstwestern allies in the north, and as the dangerous aggressor by the more Nato integrated countrieslike Croatia. Overlooking the security strategies as a whole, Aleksic still sees the distrust of theformer enemies of the wars in the 90s as the main concern.The discussion went on to concentrate on the lack of Arctic strategies among the countries and theirdifferent approach to Russia as one of the Arctic powers. Mainly Serbia is under the influence of theRussian Federation and even sold his national energy company to Russia, making it absolutelydependent on Russian imports.

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Helena Wegend Lindberg pointed out how common maps are prolonging the power structures in theArctic discourse. The mostly used Mercator-projection doesn't show the north pole in a realistic way. Furthermore, most of the used maps don't show the sea ice at all, making it already a place for neoliberal fights over resources and shipping routes.The discussion showed, that even literature about any region starts with the looking on the maps ofprementioned places. Google maps was taken as an example of modern technology that also doesnot show the sea ice at all, although this would possibly change the discourse about climate changein the north.

Natalia Loukachevas presentation concentrated on the legal circumstances under which the „ArcticRace“ takes place and how its reasons are mostly the geopolitical fight for undiscovered resourcesand future shipping ways. The following discussion turned to some prominent points like theIlulissat Declaration of 2008 and its strengths and weaknesses. Also the question, whetherinternational law is really settled, especially concerning the status of the sea ice area, was raised.The legal framework of „Search and Rescue“ missions and how still unmapped sea ground can bereglemented was also mentioned.

Florian Vidal showed a very light-hearted overlook of the perception of the Arctic of the lastdecades in western pop culture, mainly concentrating on movies, tv-shows, commercials andbelletristic literature in which he portrayed the changes of the image the Arctic went through untilnowadays. The evolution of the North Pole from being a dangerous place for man to beingendangered by human induced climate change was one of the aspects in the discussion afterwards.The question of the definition of what is „western culture“ also came up. Inari, being the centre ofSami movie culture was mentioned as well, making it an origin of Arctic culture created by anArctic indigenous people. On a critical note, understanding of Arctic from legal terms has both international influence andgeopolitical interests. For instance, Oslo District Court ruling in January 2018 that allowed grantinglicenses to companies for offshore drilling, though met with resistances and appeals. Commentariesagain focused on the neoliberal tendency for using legal frameworks and maps to explore naturalresources. However, noted that, there are international provisions such as UN convention on law ofthe sea addressing such ambiguities. Lastly, from a standpoint of “pop culture”, external images ofarctic are hugely evident in entertain industry (movies, cartoons, books). The example of ArcticPredator and Arctic Blast, which reinforces notion of “darkness and cold”. However, audiencesuggested extending this study to viewpoint from arctic nations. Conclusively, it was anintroductory session touching across a variety in both concept and narratives about the arctic. Thisintend laid a start-up point for further sessions and discourses for the entire week.

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During Rovaniemi session (Photo by University of Lapland).

Session 2: “The Calotte Academy as a method of research supervision and learning”(Rapporteur: Giuseppe Amatulli)

Introduction by Lassi Heininen and round table discussion

In this first brainstorming session, prof. Lassi Heininen explained how the Calotte Academy hasevolved since its first edition in 1991, underlining the fact that it is more than just a PhD summercourse. Actually, the Calotte Academy can be considered as a method of doing research. However,notwithstanding the achievements of the Calotte Academy, due to some conflicts within theUniversity of Lapland, the Calotte Academy has been often classified as an excursion or a trip; notas a way of learning. Prof. Heininen strongly stressed that the Calotte Academy is a travellingscientific symposium, as well as a doctoral school, which aim is to address Arctic-related issueswith a critical and open-minded perspective. It is a “school of dialogue”, an alternative model forlearning in a different way.The Calotte Academy has been shaped through the years according to some fundamental principles,such as: inter-disciplinarity and trans-disciplinarity; inclusivity and participatory approach, togetherwith a good sense of flexibility. Only in this way it has been possible to promote a different way ofconducting academic research. During its existence, many things happened in the Arctic and manything changed. In particular, with the speech of Gorbacev in 1987 and after the collapse of theSoviet Union, new paths to develop research and cooperation in the high north have been opened.The 1st edition of the Calotte Academy took place in 1991 and it has been hosted in several

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locations such as Inari, Kirkenes, Murmansk and Apatity; and in some years it has even reachedTromso and Kiruna.As regards the topics, starting with security and sustainable development, the Academy has evolvedduring the years. In the 1st phase, the Calotte was a platform for international research projects. The2nd phase saw the Academy becoming an international seminar for regional and local decision-makers and media. In the 3rd phase, it was a NRF sub-forum for regional and local-decision makersand in the final phase (the current one, 4th) the Calotte can be seen as a summer school for PhDcandidates and early-s tages researchers. Hence, there have been 25 editions of the CalotteAcademy, with participants coming from 25 different countries and more than 1000 presentationssince the first edition, which have resulted in several publications and open-access reports. Therefore, someone may wonder what is the secret of this Calotte Academy, how it has beenpossible to have it every year since 1991. What it is possible to say is that in order to realise asuccessful event, such as Calotte Academy, you need to have good ideas and expertise; in additionof an everlasting curiosity. Of course, it is important to have proper venues and platforms and goodconnections within the Academia (in this sense it is necessary to take into mind that the values ofAcademia must be always respected). Money is not the most important thing, although it may helpat some stage...but the most important thing in order to succeed is to be able to take the risk and beable to learn from previous failures! After the introduction and the reflections about the meaning of the Calotte Academy, prof. Heininengave the floor to those who have attended the Calotte in the previous years. Overall, everyoneagrees about the fact that the Calotte Academy has been a great opportunity to meet people andstakeholders from the Arctic Region and to have new and better perceptions about the Barents area.Indeed, notwithstanding the Barents Region is part of Europe, most of the time it is not perceivedlike that; and many stakeholders do not have enough knowledge about the Barents Regions, itschallenges and potentialities. Those who have been attended the Calotte for more than three timesstated that it is interesting to experience the changes that take place in different countries year afteryear, according to the geopolitical situation; this is particularly true as regards Russia and especiallywhen crossing the Russian boarder. In conclusion, everyone agrees about the fact that the CalotteAcademy is something unusual, which gives to participants the possibility to discuss research-related topics in a lively and vibrant environment, as well as using an interdisciplinary approach, inan unconventional and original way.

Session 3: “China and the Arctic”(Rapporteur: Miguel Roncero)

• Karoliina HurriThe Arctic Strategy of China: The discourse of climate change

• Egill Thor NielssonChina-Nordic Arctic Cooperation: Discourses on the depth of regional and bilateral ties

• Liisa KauppilaBecoming a primary node of the global economy: China, the Arctic and critical flows

• Mia BennettHow the Frontier Makes the Nation: Comparing Arctic Discourses in 20th-Century Americaand 21st-Century China

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Karoliina Hurri’s presentation, The Potential of Climate Change to Construct the Space of GlobalClimate Governance, focused on China’s role in international climate politics and its relation to theArctic. Driven by domestic and international politics, in recent years China has changed its positionregarding climate change. The country sees it now as a security threat and as a possibility fordevelopment as well as new economic activities (such as shipping). The presentation also delvedinto the interdependencies between geopolitical discourses and identity. Because China’s positionhas change, it cannot use old discourses. The presentation also revised the different discourses thatChina has to use in different fora. In such fora (i.e. BRICS, Arctic -outside UN- as well as G-77 andBASIC frame/UNFCCC -within the UN umbrella-), China identifies itself as a near-Arctic state inits Arctic strategy, in a dynamic and adaptive manner. For instance, at BASIC climate change isseen as an inequality question (caused by developed countries and suffered by developingcountries), and China’s role is passive -albeit as a leader for developing countries; whereas in theArctic context, it is seen as a global phenomenon which builds on the common future, while China’srole is active (as part of the solution).The group discussion focused on the historical view of climate politics from the viewpoint of China,the depth of the fora in which the research focuses, whether and how the perceptions or reflectionsof third countries change as a result of China’s polyvalent positions, quantitative and qualitativeaspects of discourse analyses, the level to which the same individuals take place in the fora (linkedto age and gender), the evolution of Chinese discourses in the fora, the connection with otherChinese policies (e.g. development, commerce, or economics), the Icelandic-Chinese and broaderChina-Nordic countries relations, the central role and weight of China in particular fora (i.e., the G-77 or BRICS group).

Egill Thor Nielsson’s China-Nordic Arctic Cooperation: Discourses on the depth of regional andbilateral ties took stock of the overall role of China in the Arctic as a partner and from the policyviewpoint. The 2017 Chinese Arctic policy sets China as the center of international commerce andtrade. This policy paper identifies three main global routes, one of which is the Arctic route (toEurope). In this view, the role of China in relation to the Arctic is paramount. The policy paperfocuses on cooperation to exploit the different economic opportunities; and dialogue throughparticipation in different events and fora. Since the global wealth is expected to pivot towards Asia,the role of China will thus increase. The reactions to the Chinese policy paper were diverse, butwhere accompanied by an increased presence of Chinese officials in different fora all around theworld. This contributes to indicate the importance that the Arctic has for China. The country is alsobringing history and collective imaginary back, identifying the Arctic as a new polar/ice silk road.To turn this vision into a reality, China is already taking actions, acquiring assets and investing inthe Arctic (although to a limited extent, particularly if compared to other regions such as Africa). Todate, the real investment in the area is very limited, partly because of geopolitical limitations andpartly because China’s investment is still centered in other areas. Nevertheless, China is seekingpartners in the region (mostly with the Nordic countries, e.g. Finland, Norway or Iceland).Cooperation agreements have been signed in this new sought-after cooperation framework, even ifno great investments have taken place to date. Yet, the cooperation (and investment) is not onlyeconomic, but also scientific. How the Nordic countries might react to this new reality (for instance,if bilaterally or collectively) is one of the main questions to be answered in the future.The group discussion focused on the global expansion and presence of China (and within theparticular Arctic context, the proposed Arctic railway). It was mentioned that the EU seemed to beabsent from the Arctic railway project. In this line, it was clarified that joint ventures are commonamongst developed/rich countries, that the main investment comes nevertheless from the interestedcountries (Norway and Finland), and that the EU is present and participates in the railway project.

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The dependency of China on international trade also pushes the country to seek policies in thisregard. The differences between Russia-China and Nordic-Russia cooperation were also brieflydiscussed, pointing out that a possible alternative approach would be China-Russian cooperation inthe Arctic (where China has invested vastly -e.g. in Yamal). Finally, the cooperation and scientificinvestment of China in the Nordic countries was also briefly commented. Liisa Kauppila’s presentation, Becoming a primary node of the global economy: China, the Arcticand critical flows, was centred on the spatial implications of China’s rise and its impact/relation tothe Arctic. China is becoming a great power and an economic superpower, which implies, amongother changes, that a transfer of power from West to East is happening. At the same time,connectivity is becoming an ever-higher element of the global order. Kauppila’s presentationfocused on China’s perception of its role as a global node for that connectivity. China and itsimmediate neighbors resemble a functional region; and the Arctic belongs to that larger functionalregion. All these functional regions are seen as key for China’s economic and domestic relations.China-Arctic networks allows China to be better positioned to acquire resources (physical anddiplomatic). This also allows China to enhance its position as a global node. The functionalregionalization process is however not only led by the central government; there is a big role beingplayed by economic enterprises. The process, with state support, takes place at three levels: 1)financial support (big or strategic), 2) diplomatic practices and 3) constant flows/companyengagement (with a view to economic profits but also know-how learning and skills development).The Chinese reality vis-à-vis the Arctic is fluid, dynamic and complex, rather than rigid andfollowing a grand strategy. The region is hence part of China’s functional region strategy, which canalso turn into a formal region in the future. The role of companies and domestic dynamics of nodalpowers is better understood as Chinese region-building.The following group discussion centred around how functional regions might be different fromclassical spheres of influence; whether these might just be a new way of (modern) imperialism; orwhether functional regions might just preclude or a trigger spheres of influence later on. In fact,functional regions have a more economic approach that can trigger later on a more traditionalimperialistic/political approach. The role of smallness was also noted, indicating that smaller actors(states, in this case), are not powerless and can react (for and against) Chinese strategies. Thedifferent roles and synergies between different Chinese companies were also addressed. The role ofChinese universities in the flow of information was addressed as well, as a way to complement theconclusions drawn from the economic actors.

Mia Bennett’s How the Frontier Makes the Nation: Comparing Arctic Discourses in 20th-CenturyAmerica and 21st-Century China compared the frontier discourses towards the Arctic between the20th century US (Alaska, and how to integrate a separated territory that became America’s lastfrontier) and the 21st century China (or how to be able to exploit economically and otherwise arelatively distant region, all culturally, spatially and historically). From the perspective of frontiermythology and discourses of territoriality, Bennet compares the Arctic discourses of these twocountries and their relation to nation-building processes. The frontier, understood as the place wherea country materializes its manifest destiny. To the US, Alaska was the last frontier, a place of richesand promises. Today, it is part of the US sovereignty discourse. In the 20th century, Alaska was aplace to be settled, economically exploited, and politically defended. White settlers were to move tothe region to bring it close to the mainland US in a process sponsored by the US government byalso by private individuals. There was a sense of adventure and realization through the participationin the exploration and colonization process (the notion “use it or lose it” was early linked toAlaska). China also presents a frontier mythology focused on economic and foreign policy

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expansion. To China, the Arctic frontier is not that relevant in terms of nation-building; but it is anarea for expanding Chinese influence. It is not a place to own, but an area to be developed and thatcan bring economic advantages and profits to China. But the Arctic is also a place for research anddiscovery. In this sense, China depicts its scientist as polar people, in a way similar to the depictionof the pioneers. The country is also developing its capacities e.g. through icebreakers, which meansthat China as a tangible and perceived presence in the region. These ships also support futureeconomic developments in terms of shipping. Yet in a sense, China seeks a polar order, an agreedregime that allows China to be and exploit the region (e.g. Svalbard) without turning it into a wildwest. This narrative collides with the US vision for the region, resulting in an American narrativethat sees China as a rival in the Arctic.The following group discussion soon draw the parallelisms between China’s presence in the Arcticand the Antarctic (through research stations). The notion of frontier was discussed and linked toactual settlements, that China does not have in the Arctic. In this sense, the group explored how thisnotion is playing in the current Chinese frontier discourse, and how does it link to the other (formaland informal) settlements that China has around the world. For China, the frontier might not benecessarily linked to settlements, but to the idea of presence (through research or economicinvestment). The fact that China identifies its researchers as polar people is a way to legitimizecurrent or future claims to be present in Arctic fora/contexts. In this sense, it was discussed howChina’s scientific cooperation is political as much as scientific (as it is for any other country), andthat scientific cooperation, research or presence-through=-cience is neither altruistic nor an innocentclaim. Further parallelisms regarding nation-building discourses regarding Taiwan were alsomentioned. Finally, the group discussed how China already presents differences in frontierdiscourses within one century.

TUESDAY, June 5Inari

Opening session, Inari(Rapporteur: Helena W. Lindberg)

• Eeva-Liisa Rasmus-Moilanen, rector of Sámi educational center, and Jackie Hrabok-Leppäjärvi, associate professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks Norrthwest Campus/Sámi educational center

• Tauno Ljetoff, Skolt Sámi teacher/reindeer herder, Sámi educational center and Eeva-Liisa Rasmus-MoilanenVirtual School enables the reviving of Sámi languages

The Sámi Educational Centre in Inari is a hub of many different types of educational practices,gathering students from Northern Finland as well as Northern Norway, Sweden and Russia.Founded in 1992, the State owned Centre’s education is taught in three Sámi languages: Inari Sámi,Northern Sámi, and Skolt Sámi as well as in Finnish and Swedish. The aim is to provide educationmainly for the needs of the Sámi area and to maintain and develop Sámi culture and nature-basedoccupations.

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The topics are wide range. Language studies are important in order to preserve Sámi languages.Another topic is reindeer husbandry, learning biology and herding as well as slaughtering andpacking meat in order to avoid middle men so that the income from these practices stays in thecommunity. This includes reindeer crafts and other Sámi handicrafts, such as traditional clothing,preserving traditional usages of the whole animal, not only the meat. The Centre’s adult-educationand work-place practice are also important, where adults by demonstrating their skills can getformal certification or practice working along someone in the community, often an elder -combining science with hands-on learning. Additional programs are in catering, providing localdelicacies in a larger scale, nursing, customer service and marketing, tourism, wilderness guiding,media and journalism in Sámi languages. Fieldtrips is central in the education, often withintergenerational groups of students with different languages (for example Russian speakers) andoften in need of communicating in non-verbal ways, encouraging many ways of learning.Jackie has also established a cooperation with the University Alaska Fairbanks to exchangeknowledge between cultures with the overall goal to develop sustainable indigenous cultures withprofitable economy with herding as a modern day livelihood. However, the constraints on internetinfrastructure in Alaska, compared to Northern Finland, makes virtual cooperation challenging.

Tauno is born and raised in Inari. He did not learn Skolt sámi at home but finally at the SámiEducational Centre. Currently, there are roughly 300 speakers of Skolt sámi left, most are elderly.The Skolt Sámi areas lies east of Lake Inari. In Finland there is special legislation to secure theSkolt Sámi culture and livelihood. Earlier, the language education was organised as classroomteaching but applicants were too few in 2015 and an initiative was taken to offer online-education,which is possible to combine with other occupations and adaptable with the various life situationsof the individual student. Additionally, the online-students meet for one week once a year. Learninga language is dynamic. There is therefore an emphasis on learning by doing, speaking the languagewhile fishing, reindeer herding or doing other activities, often together with native speakers. Assuch, language learning also includes cultural studies: fishing, reindeer herding, orthodox religion,handicrafts, foods, music and dance. Through remote access to learning languages it is also possibleto discuss everyday topics between a non-native speaker and a native speaker. For example, so thatthe elders can be active part of the revitalisation of the language. The aim is to make Skolt Sámi anatural part of everyday life. Tauno explained that there is an attitude change going on wherelearning Sámi has become more popular; a generation back parents did not speak their language totheir children but this is now common.Lastly, Tauno explained the lessons learned from the online language education. The course isintensive but effective for the students. Hence, it does not suit everyone as it requires highmotivation and a lot of work. He argued that the course has showed that most pedagogical solutionsare adaptable to online-education. It has also helped people living outside the Sámi homelandregion to maintain their connection to the living culture. Moreover, there is cooperation establishedfor the adaptability of the online course for other minority languages, for example by takingtechnology and knowledge to language minorities in Russia.

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Session in Inari (Photo by Clemens Jöbstl)

Session 4: “Indigeneity and Indigenous Politics”(Rapporteurs: Hilma Salonen & Mirva Salminen)

• Guiseppe AmatulliEnhancing decision-making by expanding participation through the application of the FPICbeyond indigenous peoples: case studies from Finland, Canada and Greenland

• Anna VarfolomevaArticulations of indigeneity in two mining regions of Russia: between dominant discourses and local approaches

• Laura OlsénAt the crossroads of western and indigenous epistemologies

• Lidia RakhmanovaPaternalistic tendencies in the northern communities of Russia: why do the projects "from above" do not meet the support from the perspective of the local population?

The first presentation was given by Giuseppe Amatulli, who was looking into the conceptualisationsof equality and discrimination in Swedish and Finnish legislations, as well as the tools that theselegislations provide for maintaining equality. The main question in his presentation was how toensure equality, particularly in the case of indigenous peoples. In general, equality entails a similar

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social position and the same treatment for everyone. Both Sweden and Finland have a number oflegislations and institutions dealing with the matter, for example, Finland has a national humanrights institution and four ombudsmen that can examine equality questions, whereas Sweden doesnot have a designated human rights institution but two ombudsmen similar to the Finnish bodies.Yet, equality remains as something to be reached, for in many cases the Sámi people have beenexcluded from decision-making. Amatulli’s suggestion for a possible way to manage equality betterwas the establishment of a Land Access Ombudsman for Sami people, following the Australianexample.Questions raised in the discussion following the presentation entailed: How would the suggestedombudsman operate in relation to political / legal decision-making? How would the divisions withinthe Sami community be accommodated? How the emphasis on equality of minority groups willimprove the position of the people? What would be the best way to balance with the majoritydecision-making? According to Amatulli, each case ought to be settled according to the nationallegislation. Compensation policy would be an option, but there is certainty that in a democraticsociety, minorities’ opinions is equally respected. However, ombudsman is a public official towhom people are able to complain / appeal.

The second presenter was Anna Varfolomeva. She examined the articulations of indigeneity in twomining regions in Russia: Karelia (a site close to Petrozavodsk) and Buryatia (a site close toIrkutsk). Both of these sites have a long and remarkable history of mining – the reason for choosingthem for a case study. Natural resource extraction in indigenous communities is generally presentedas contradictory to indigeneity. However, the question of how indigenous lifestyles are supporting /in line with mining practices deserves attention as well. The definition of indigeneity in Russianlegislation refers to a small number of people who are engaged in traditional activities / lifestyles.What kinds of lifestyles and activities are considered as traditional and who can receive the status ofindigenous are disputable. According to Varfolomeva, most people in Karelia have a connection tomining, and mining activities are present – either visibly or invisibly – throughout the region,whereas in Buryatia, majority of the population has no connection to mining and are even unwillingto talk about it. The presentation examined several questions from people’s relationships with themines to other indigenous professions, the environmental harm caused by the mines, and theprocess of defining or being defined as indigenous. It was clarified that while people have more of arelationship with these mines due to their small size, they are not considered as a part of theindigenous lifestyle since they now owned by private people from different regions. However,because of the shared history, environmental harm is not perceived as a threat. As for defining theindigenous status, the definition is characteristically vague and fluid, and may change according tohow the state discourse is being interpreted. After having lived in the region for decades, peoplemay also gain an indigenous status even though they were originally from another region. Thus, inKarelia people do not see mining as contradictory to traditional activities, but in Buryatia it isconsidered as a threat to traditional lifestyles. In neither of the sites, indigenous claims have beenaccepted on the basis of stoneworking. Nonetheless, both past and present mining activities affectindigenous claims.In the discussion, Varfolomeva was first asked to give a further elaboration on the choice of the casestudy. Her research interest have moved from large-scale (Karelia) to small-scale (Buryatia) miningand communities. The official Russian claim that those involved in mining cannot be indigenous isunder critical scrutiny – also because some activists are claiming that mining should be accepted asan indigenous activity. Both mines are now privatively owned, which has diminished localstakeholdership. In addition, the topic of “system collaborators” i.e. necessary people like doctorsand teachers who are needed in the region became discussed. Some of these people see themselves

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as close to indigenous and are generally accepted by the communities. With regard to health issues,people talk about the dust, but perceive the mine still as important for the local community.

The third presentation was given by Laura Olsén. She presented her researcher’s position in thecrossroads of Western and indigenous epistemologies based on lessons learned from her twopreceding research projects: traditional ecological knowledge and the human rights of minoritieswithin minorities. The presentation discussed community-based participatory research (CBPR) as amethod in including indigenous people in academic research projects and its challenges. The maindifference between traditional Western research methods and CBPR is that CBPR begins by askingthe local communities which topics should be researched. The challenges of the method include thelack of training from universities, for example the lack of ethical boards in Finland. As a personalchallenge, maintaining objectivity and distance while also building trust with the community ismentioned, as well as avoiding romanticizing the indigenous knowledge. The discussion mainlycentred around the topics of objectivity and distance. According to Olsén, the methodologicalchoices one makes in the collection of traditional knowledge and its translation to language that canbe used in official decision-making are of primary importance. Community-based participatorymethod – in which the entire knowledge production process collaborates with the communities fromthe definition of the problem and research questions to checking the results with the community –has proven the best solution, yet problems in grasping phenomena and discussing them furtherremain. Therefore, an increasing number of frameworks and methodologies are now published inindigenous studies. Yet, for example, IR does not mention indigenous issues; practices criticalitymainly from the Western point of view; has no ethical research issue boards; does not always set thebest premises for the indigenous research; etc. The homogeneity of Western academic communitywas questioned, leading to the question whether keeping a distance to one’s research sources is evennecessary. As for ethical boards consisting of indigenous people themselves, it was questionedwhether it would be possible to balance their world view without risking that researchers wouldhave to cut out possibly sensitive topics. Same issues are nowadays very topical in researchliterature of the field. She does not suggest that knowledge appreciated by the academia needs to bereplaced, but that it should critically engaged with other e.g. indigenous epistemologies.In the discussion, it was pointed out that the Western academia is not unified either, but separatedand allows doing research in different ways. Epistemological choices divide research into two parts:(1) how to immerse in research and collect knowledge (2) how to interpret results. Different kindsof contracts can be created; also knowledge creation via observation. A long discussion thenfollowed on who would be in the ethical boards and what do objectivity and distance mean inresearch.

Finally, Lidia Rakhmanova gave her presentation on the paternalistic tendencies in the northerncommunities of Russia, and why do not top-down projects gain local support. The presentationdiscusses identity of the Solovetsky islands residents and their lack of community sentiment. Thecommunity is characterized by its isolated location, seasonal changes, and the limited circle ofsocial contacts. Due to their influence, there is no community in the traditional sense, but insteadmany micro groups. She first depicted an archipelago community, where she had carried out herfield studies: a settlement occupied by a monastery from 1430s to 1920s; a prison for a specialpurpose between 1922 and 1939; civilian inhabitation emerging in 1940s, but also with military /maritime nature; and gradually becoming a community during the 20th century. Then she askedwhat culture, identity, and a way of life mean in such contexts where isolation is prevailing.According to her, there is no community – as generally understood – but migrant groups. This lackof community (identity) is a problem related to identification with history and cultural context of

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the place, which intensifies individual initiative. Contrarily, a successful social action would requirean aim that is meaningful to everyone – hence creating an intention to produce something to affect /change the situation. The existing societal problems such as challenges to maintain life supportsystems, monotony of leisure activities, and unemployment, deteriorated when the governmentalsupport system collapsed at the end of the Soviet Union. A construction of self-uniquesness amongthe local people is now ongoing, but difficult. Governmental target programmes, high-level visits,restoration programmes, and new administrative positions, support this. Yet, there is an illusion ofplight and scarcity created by local people, as well as a presentation of a deplorable situation byexperts and stakeholders. Among the locals, a solid belief prevails that their concerns do not matter.People also have problems with identifying with the historical context of the place, meaning thegulag history or the monastery. People expect more social services from the state, and the lack of itsattention has led to social apathy. Local people do not believe that everyday life problems will besolved by micro-region development, and the administration is not interested in different ideas.Getting these non-indigenous communities involved is a big challenge. The discussion wasinterested in possible components to common identity in the Solovetsky islands and whether it hasalready crossed a border to become a non-community. The presenter viewed the community ashaving the essential traits needed for survival, such as historical links to reindeer herding andfishing, but only with the right initiative and resources. As for the monastery, the community onlyhas shallow connections with it, mainly via the children. However, despite previous and prevailingdifficulties, people still wish to live in the islands and the families there are again growing.The discussion began with a question whether it is even possible to maintain the settlement wheneconomic regime changes? The monks did this, but not within a neo-liberal, capitalistic way of life.At the beginning of 1990s, there was a rise of the religious community. However, when themonastery grows, it becomes more powerful and pushes other people further away. Yet, there is adialogue because, for example, people bring their children to be baptised. Another question relatedto the possible changes that have taken place since the field study. Community involvement is stillvery low, even if several activities have been tried e.g. arts projects. How to generate engagementwithout expert involvement? Situational identity does not work for identity building in a long run.The presentation discussed how the principle of equality is fulfilled in practice regarding the rightsof Sami people in Finland and Sweden, and what kind of practices could improve the situation. Inboth countries, this task is often under the responsibility of different ombudsmen, and their reportsdepict exclusion from decision-making processes, for example when it comes to mining sites.Mining companies operating in indigenous regions generally do not view exclusion as a problem oreven a fact, mainly because the indigenous people have already been paid compensation for theland. As a solution, establishing a Land Access Ombudsman is suggested for resolving disputesbetween land-owners and resource companies. During discussion, it was pointed out that since theSami people are not a homogenous community, it cannot be assumed that they would all be againstmining activities, since such activities also present new possibilities. The presenter answered thatwhile this is true, it is unlikely that anyone will be content in a situation where their opinions are nottaken into account. Another listener asked how it is possible to balance minority interests with themajority opinions in the most democratic way. The presenter considered that although a fullydemocratic way may not exist, an alternative way (instead of just paying compensation for landowners) could and should be established.

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BBQ dinner in Inari (Photo by Clemens Jöbstl)

Session 5: “Geopolitics and Exceptionalism of the Global Arctic”(Rapporteurs: Danko Aleksic and Florian Vidal)

• Lassi HeininenSpecial features of Arctic geopolitics in globalization

• Jose Miguel Roncero MartinEuropean Arctic States. Small Actors Playing Big Politics?

• Gleb YarovoyCross-border cooperation in the High North of Europe: from bureaucratic to social partnership?

• Peter KujawinskiNorth American Narratives of the Arctic, and Their Impact on Policy

This session was dedicated to geopolitics of the Global Arctic, especially its state of affairs in thepost-Cold War period. The session was opened by the presentation of prof Lassi Heininen, whohighlighted significant changes in main trends. Cooperation in the Arctic has started withenvironmental protection issues (Ottawa Declaration 1996), whereas that time approaching trendsare dominant nowadays. Global multidimensional challenges affect the Arctic today, causing thatthe future of the region is not in the hands of the Arctic actors only. Within the presentation, 7

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megatrends and 4 scenarios were presented and opened for discussion. It has been stressed thatdefining common interest is precondition for fruitful cooperation, though future developments inthe Arctic do depend on developments in the global arena. Important feature of the Arctic is thatthere are no real territorial disputes within it, so the states could concentrate on the commoninterests.As the first speaker, Prof. Lassi Heininen introduced the different trends that crosses the Arcticregion in the last decades. From the idea of a regional transition from confrontation into cooperationin the 1990s, he reminded that the Arctic states affirmed their commitments to “sustainabledevelopment” at that time. Also, Heininen stressed that current globalization has global impacts onthe Arctic region. On the one hand the Anthropocene is at play in the region. On the other hand, theregion’s future is no longer in the hands of Arctic actors alone. As a result, the Polar region undermegatrends which include urbanization, demographic challenges, pollution, climate change and soon. Then, Heininen introduced four speculative scenarios on the future of the region within 2025.He established these scenarios according different factors including impacts of climate change onthe Arctic ocean, rising tensions between Western countries and Russia. According to him, theworse scenario is not inevitable, since the current situation could be maintained and have a peacefulshift. In conclusion, he underlined that integrated systems assessment may stand as a tool ofgeopolitics analysis in the case of the Arctic.

Then, PhD Candidate Miguel Roncero Martin introduced to the participants the theoricalframework of the small countries. It applied this IR theory for the case of the Nordic countries.Roncero Martin used the case of Norway to demonstrate the interest of such theorical vision in theinternational system. He described the different characteristics that embrace Small countries (orwhat does it mean ‘Smallness’ in IR). Among these different characteristics, Nordic countriesappear to stand as law and peace lovers and net beneficiaries of international institutions. Besides,he explained that theoretical framework is currently divided by two visions: traditional and non-traditional visions. He finally interrogates the reality of this so-called ‘smallness’. Despite that theEuropean Arctic States are defined as Small States, they fit themselves in a ‘niche approach’ whichinvolves to find an area to exploit in order to become a world leader in its niche.Jose Miguel Roncero Martin stressed that state sovereignty is still very important in the Arcticregion, which is shared among eight independent countries. He explained that the Arctic mirrors theworld theater as it is clear reflection of world politics as being stage where interests, big powers,small states, blocks, bi- and multilateral cooperation etc. are present. After insight into small statestheories, it was stressed that all European Arctic states could be defined as small states (according toseveral criteria), but smallness does not have to mean weakness. All of them are also stable actorswith high level of social and economic development, and very skilled in using alliances for ownbenefits. Smallness could and should be redefined in today’s world. Applying “the NicheApproach”, small states could play big politics by defining field in which every of them could lead.

In his presentation about the cross-border cooperation in High North of Europe, Gleb Yarovoyunderlined that this kind of cooperation exists in the region since 1990 and in many ways. There areexamples of very successful projects, but of failures as well. Analyzing failures has led toconclusions about obstacles for more successful cross-border cooperation, among which are:problems in decision making i.e. bureaucratic partnership instead of platform for stakeholders’involvement, long administrative procedures, different project implementation practices, differentperception of criteria of successful project, etc. However, efforts in cross-border cooperationcontribute to stability and mutual understanding.

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Gleb Yarovoy, Assistant Professor, aimed to give a practical example of what ‘exceptionalism’might mean in the Arctic region. For that purpose, he did expose the situation of the cross-bordercooperation (CBC) in the Barents region, focusing on the Finnish-Russian border area. Through hispresentation, he stressed the need to address some key questions: “Why it sometimes works andsometimes doesn’t?” and ‘Are there problems in decision-making, or CBC programs governance?”.In order to complete this research, Yarovoy argues that a theoretical framework and a policymechanism would help to implement the participatory governance for CBC projects. During thediscussion, a participant raised the situation of the CBC in the context of the Crimean annexation.According to Yarovoy, this situation did not affect the CBC as it is not viewed as strategic as theeconomic and financial sanctions.

The last speaker Peter Kujawinski, writer based in the USA, gave to the participants an overview onthe North American Arctic narratives, both in Canada and the USA. Overall, he identified bothperceptions which are introduced in various articles. He assessed that the Arctic perceptions fromthe media in both countries are mixed based on the identified topics (e.g. economics, climate,military affairs and so on). Notwithstanding, Kujawinski underlined if the Arctic was an opportunityor a challenge based on these mix messages identified in the North American press. Besides, hestressed the lack of knowledge of social issues ongoing regarding the Arctic people. Indeed, heexplained further the poor knowledge of political framework and issues in the Arctic region. Lastly,Kujawinski recognized the multiplicity of the narratives regarding the Arctic in the US.The session was concluded by presentation of Peter Kujawinski, who spoke about narratives of theArctic in the North America and stressed that only small portion of both US and Canada populationlive in the Northern regions so practical political impact of it is very low. Also, economic wealth isnot in the North today. The North is more substantially present in everyday discourse in Canadathan in the US. In case of the US, majority of people are not aware about Arctic and there is nodominant Arctic narrative. That makes the Arctic as an issue which is not politicized as some otherissues are, which may be considered both as challenge and opportunity.

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WEDNESDAY, June 6Neiden, Kirkenes, Norway

Visit to Skolt Sámi Museum, Neiden

During visit to Skolt Sámi museum, Neiden (Photo by Clemens Jöbstl)

Opening session, Kirkenes(Rapporteur: Mia Bennett)

• Anne Figenschou, adviser, Barents Institute: “Welcome to Kirkenes. Town, isolated village, or capital?”

• Roman Gokkoev, Executive Officer, International Barents Secretariat

• Rune Rafaelsen, mayor of Sør-Varanger municipality, tbc.

This session took place at the Barents International Secretariat in Kirkenes, Norway. We arrivedafter traveling by bus that morning from Inari, Finland. Kirkenes is a large city in the region with10,227 residents. As we learned from the session’s first speaker, Anne Figenschou, adviser at theBarents Institute, it is only 20 minutes to Russia and 40 minutes to Finland. Kirkenes’ proximity to

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two countries situated within starkly different political and economic contexts – Finland, being inthe European Union, and Russia, increasingly separated from the West, makes it a natural setting forfacilitating international diplomacy. As such, it’s little surprise the International Barents Secretariat(IBS) chose to locate itself here.

Aside from fostering diplomacy within the Barents Region, Kirkenes is also a hub for economicactivity in the area. Figenschou described the city’s most important sectors. The two maincompanies are Kimek AS, specializing in ship repair and offshore and industrial services, and ASSydvaranger, an iron ore mining company. Trade and tourism are also important industries, andpetroleum could be in the future as well. Figenschou explained that Kirkenes was established in1906 around the AS Sydvaranger mine, which is located relatively close to the city center. Iron orefrom the Bjørnevatn facility was processed and shipped out in pellet form from Kirkenes' harbor.Ninety years later, the mine ceased production, only to reopen in 2009. Yet the vagaries of globalcommodities circuits proved devastating here, as in 2015, 400 mine workers found themselves outof a job one month before Christmas.

Next in the session, Russian-born Roman Gokkoev, the Executive Officer of IBS, described thework of the organization he heads. Gokkoev explained that IBS was launched in Kirkenes in 1993by foreign ministers of the member countries establishing the Barents Euro-Arctic Council: Finland,Sweden, Norway, and Russia. Later in the session, the mayor of the Sør-Varanger municipality inwhich Kirkenes is located, Rune Rafaelsen, described the Kirkenes Treaty/Barents Declaration as“one of the most advanced political coups,” noting that it "would not have been possible half a yearbefore or half a year after” it was signed in 1993. He elaborated, "Because then, Yeltsin said, go toKirkenes, let the region develop. He had this vision and it was signed. And even the EU signed theTreaty by mistake.” Mistake or not, the Barents Region is the most populated part of the Arctic and one where theborders of several countries with contentious histories come together. This makes efforts atmaintaining the peace all the more vital. Gokkoev explained, “Cooperation excludes all matters ofsecurity and defense, which makes it possible to continue…there are tensions in certain sectors butBarents cooperation is working more on soft values. It’s more functional cooperation.” Thanks to its work, IBS has gained increasing recognition if Europe. Just one day before oursession, on June 5, “Barents Day” was being celebrated in Brussels. The formal organization of theBarents-Euro Arctic Region has also grown recently, with North Karelia’s membership approvedthis year. However, BEAR is limited to 14 regions, and Gokkoev does not foresee it extendingfurther.

Calotte Academy student Jose Miguel Roncero Martin asked what the role of the commission waswithin IBS. Gokkoev responded that it works with European External Affairs, which is present inall ministerial meetings, and that the European Union also co-funds some cross-border cooperation(CBC) programs which are relevant to wider EU cooperation. Another student asked, “What changed after the Crimea crisis?” Gokkoev responded that one issuestemming from the crisis may be a delay in CBC Programs that should have begun 2.5 years ago.More optimistically, however, he suggested, “I believe that Barents cooperation is seen as a peace-making process and it’s seen as a 'Save my baby, don’t kill my baby’ project.” He concluded, "Onboth sides of the region, they really value this window for dialogue between Europe and Russia.”Calotte Academy student Mirva Salminen asked about the importance of digitalization to theSecretariat. Gokkoev answered that IBS used to have a working group on digitalization but that itwas transformed into a working group on transport and logistics. He also emphasized how digital

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communications channels like Skype and video conferences are used for regional committeemeetings. He underscored, “This is of crucial importance that we all have access to internetthroughout the region. Otherwise, it will not be develop the way they want.”

Finally, we heard from Rafaelsen, the animated mayor. His municipality of Sør-Varanger is the onlyone in Norway that shares a border with Russia. Rafaelsen, who was born and bred in this bordertown, launched into a history of the dividing line. He described that it was the result of the FrenchRevolution, during which Norway was gifted to Sweden, and explained how the treaty demarcatingthe border was signed in 1826 in the Norwegian capital. Rafaelsen quipped, “In Oslo at that time,which was called Kristania, they didn’t know a thing. And they still don’t.” Rafaelsen went on todescribe the impact of other major events in history, like the Crimean War from 1851-1853, on theregion. Fears at that time that Russia would seize Sør-Varanger caused Sweden to cease its alliancewith Russia and instead take sides with England and France. “Again, big politics plays a role uphere and has consequences on other places,” Rafaelsen affirmed, reminding how global events canimpact the periphery.

Session in Kirkenes (Photo by Clemens Jöbstl)

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Session 6: “Migration, inflows and future developments ” (Rapporteurs: Anna Varfolomeva & Dimtry Varlfolov)

• Helene PeterbauerWhen Spitsbergen Became Svalbard: Norwegian Identity Constructions in Scandinavian Literature on Svalbard

• Clemens JöbstlBiography for the analysis of modern Arctic societies. A historical analysis of migrants to the Arctic region in the 20th century: The case of Anton Neumeier

• Anastasiia ZarovaArctic nature documented in pictures

• Andrey PetrovArctic’s ‘Other Economies’ and Sustainable Development: Knowledge, Creativity, and Technology in the New Arctic

In the first presentation, Helena Peterbauer analysed the vision of Svalbard in Norwegian fiction.The Arctic island occupied a special place in country’s collective imagination since the early 20thcentury. At the time Norway sought to define itself on the basis of independent Northern identity.The former governor of the territory Helge Ingstad produced one of the most important Svalbard-related works in 1930s. He was keen to underscore Norway’s historical claim on the island anddismiss counter-claims by Russians and Islanders. Svalbard-related fiction often displays ‘Arctic chauvinism’. Norwegian men are proclaimed ‘truerulers of the Arctic’, who are inherently more capable than other men (and women). Recent worksalso develop the concept of “welfare theodicy”, which reconsiders the national and cultural identityof a place.

In the second presentation, Clemens Jöbstl applies biographic method for the analysis of modernArctic societies, in particular of incoming migrants in the 20th century. His research focuses on onespecific case, that of Anton Neumeier (1910 – 2007). Born in Austria, he moved to Lapland in 1931due to rising political conflicts in his hometown. In the North he established himself as a reindeerherder, learning both Finnish and Sami. However, what he tried escaping caught him in Finland,forcing Neumeier to leave the country at the beginning of the Second World War. Owing to hisknowledge of German, he was forcibly drafted to work for Wehrmacht in Norwegian Kirkenes. After the withdrawal of Nazi troops from Lapland in 1944 he deserted and returned to his pre-warlife. In the post-war years Neumeier lived in Nunnanen close to Hetta, becoming accepted by Sami.He never married and had no children. However, Neumeier maintained an active lifestyle. He hadclose affinity to technology, becoming the first one to have a snowmobile in the area. By savingmoney, the Lapland Austrian has also travelled a lot. He went to his hometown every year, alsomade trips to Siberia and Pacific Ocean. His life ended in the retirement home, to which he also donated his money. Clemens conducted on-site research in Finland, interviews in Austria and with former colleagues. He is also planning adocumentary about Neumeier to be finished in 2020.

In the third presentation, Anastasia Zarova focused on Arctic nature as documented in photos. Hergoal is to create a portable museum of nature, in particular of rare species and disappearing

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ecosystems of the Far North. The photography is combined with GIS imagery of land units near theRussian city of Khanty-Mansiysk.Those land units consist of floodplain, mires, forest and water. City and infrastructure are alsopresent and highly visible. Even Khanty-Mansiysk itself, a city of 150 000 inhabitants, is closelyintertwined with nature. The project highlights the differences between states of environment invarious seasons and helps appreciate the beauty of the Arctic.

In the session’s final presentation Andrey Petrov described the Arctic’s ‘other economies’. Thoseare the ones based not on resources, public funds or traditional activities, but on something else. Assuch, they are enabled not by external actors, but on internal capacities of Arctic regions andcommunities. Most hubs of the ‘other’ economies are set in urban places, where the vast majority ofArctic residents actually live. Defying ‘traditional’ notions, manufacturing is a large sector ofeconomic activity.Neither is Arctic immune to global economic trends, such as development of creative capital andknowledge economy. Those tendencies represent an opportunity for the region to develop localcapacities, compatible with the notion of sustainable development. According to the Talent Index ofArctic Regions, the percentage of knowledge workers is high throughout the Arctic. Andrey Petrovmapped the evolving creating class of the Arctic by looking into geography of patents in Alaskaover the past two decades. Strikingly, the outlook of inventors is becoming much more global. Inpast they collaborated with energy industry and its centers (such as Texas). Now the connections ofArctic inventors span the globe as they become increasingly involved in emerging industries such asgaming. The growth of ‘other’ industries highlights the fact that the Arctic’s main treasure are not itsresources, but the region’s people. Over 1 per cent of them are entrepreneurs, who can foster thegrowth of local economies. They represent an opportunity for local governments, which should paymore attention to them.

Session 7: “The Environment and Security”(Rapporteur: Gleb Yarovoy)

• Will GreavesProtesting Insecurity: Securitization and Resistance to Environmental Change and Natural Resource Extraction

• Ayonghe Akonwi NebasifuEnvironmental measures for Cross-border Cooperation in the Trans-boundary Inari-PasvicRiver Basin: A Sociological Perspective

• Jussi HuotariThe Barents Sea and the evolvement of energy security

The first speaker, Will Greaves covered the topic of grassroot (first of all, but not only, byindigenous people and environmental NGOs) protests against different infrastructure projects in theArctic, namely protests by Greenpeace in Russia and the UK, in Gallok, Sweden, on Clyde riverand against TransMountain Pipeline Canada. Although these grass-root protests are rather numerousand strong, nation states disregard the voices of indigenous people and activists in their Arcticstrategies. Will presented his own interpretation on how these protest activities might be considered

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by both academicians and politicians in the framework of securitization. He insisted that the“traditional” ideas of Copenhagen school should be revisited, or deconstructed, by consideringindigenous people in the Acrtic as securitizing actor, nation states' decision-makers as securitizingobject, and protests as physical (“bodies against the operation of power”) representation of securitizing moves. The main issue during the discussion was if Copenhagen School's theory of securitization may everbe a theoretical basis for such a research. Although the traditional interpretation of securitizationprocess does not allow to consider indigenous peoples and environmental activists as securitizingactors, Will's reinterpretation of Copenhagen School ideas is a great example of scientificenterpreneurship as his research approach will only promote the social relevance of science.

The second speaker, Ayonghe Akonwi Nebasifu presented the results of research devoted to studyof trilateral cross-border cooperation between Russia, Finland and Norway on environmentalmeasurements and polution of Inari-Pasvic transboundary river. He first analysed the threats toterrestrial ecosystems and problems with air quality due to SO2 emissions from smelters, situatedon the Russian side, in Nikel and Zapolyarny single-industry towns (e.g. vegetaion died on 1 to 29km from the respective smelters), threats to marine ecosystem produced by e.g. hydroelectric powerplants etc. However, he also considered positive developments in both “Russian” and “European”parts of Arctic. For example, 2017 was “ecology year” in Russia, when 9 out of 450 containers ofnuclear submarine fuel were released from the Barents sea; according to reports, during the lastyears emission on SO2 in Murmansl region droped by 20%; Norway recycles 96% of plastic wasteand wind energy production in Finland substantially grows up. However, the further trilateralcooperation in the context of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region, as well as in Arctic council taskforceshould be continued. The follow-up discussion showed that there is a lack of partnership in the processes and projects ofcross-border cooperation. For example, such an establishes and trusted NGO as “Bellona” is notinvolved in the Inari-Pasvik river project.

Finally, Jussi Huotari analysed energy security in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region in the frameworkof geopolitics-security-environmental nexus. Jussi proposed several dichotomies, which are relevantin the analysis of energy security issues in the BEAR. These dichotomies include “producer vscustomer”; “transit states” (e.g. Russia vs Ukraine); “economic vs environmental vs humansecurity” etc. Also, taking into account the future developments, “4 As” of energy security have tobe considered: availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability of energy resources. The follow-up discussion was concentrated around the question, proposed by the author, i.e. “Is, orwill be, or could be the BEAR new (energy) Eldorado?” There are some factors, which favors thisidea (geopolitical stability, huge resource potential, ice-free sea, new transport routes, great globaldemand etc.). However, many participants were rather critical to this idea, stating thatenvironmental issues should be taken into account more seriously, and that environmental narrativeshall be dominative narrative in security issues in the Barents region.

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Thursday, June 7Neiden, Kirkenes, Norway

Session 8: “Digital Arctic”(Rapporteur: Willfried Greaves)

• Henri WallénFrom information society to cyber security: Quantitative methods for text analysis

• Mirva SalminenDiscourses on the digitalising Arctic

• Gerald ZojerOpen Source Software Solutions as a Contribution to Human Security in a Digitalised Arctic

• Daria ShvetsInternational legal regime of submarine cables: the Arctic experience

• Evgeny ZarovGIS technics, field survey and lab approaches to the Arctic research (Taz peninsula example)

• Sander GoesWise-guy, outsider or trespasser? The EU’s different roles in the development of the European part of the Barents region.

This session focused on the effects of an increasingly society, specifically in the Arctic but withglobal implications, as well. The first presentation was by Henri Wallen from the University ofLapland titled “From Information Society to Cybersecurity”. The topic of this presentation was notspecific to the Arctic, but instead outlined a research project that applies new methods of computer-assisted content analysis to the study of Finnish documents related to cybersecurity between 1996-2016. The project examines how particular discourses are reflected in those strategic documents atdifferent points in time, and thus identifies the discursive shift from ‘information society’ to‘information legalization’ to ‘cybersecurity’. The presentation showed the findings from apreliminary sample of 19/80 documents to demonstrate the three methods used to analyse the data:inverse document term frequency (a form of descriptive statistics), N-gram models for term co-occurrence (correlation structure), and topical modelling with latent Dirichlet Allocation, which is amethod of unsupervised machine learning that allows for latent topics in the text to be found andvisualized. The goal of using these methods is to automate the data analysis and minimize manualanalysis, allowing for a larger sample of documents to be examined more efficiently since the largemodels produced by this data are computation heavy. The interpretation of the findings happensafter the modeling has been performed, and requires substantial, in-depth knowledge of the subjectmatter.In addition to questions about the statistical methods employed, Wallen answered questions aboutthe expected findings of the project and their social significance. He noted the findings demonstratechanges in vocabulary and framing of developments in the digital domain. Whereas the concept ofthe ‘information society’ with expectations of world becoming flat was huge in the 1990s, it

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gradually began to disappear as what we previously thought of as the information society becamenormal and no longer needed a special vocabulary. In the mid-2000s, the discourse changed as‘information security’ became common at the national level, with the first strategic document inFinland released in 2004. Wallen suggests this tells us something about the changes in society, withdevelopment of technology coming first and security concerns only entering the discussion later on.The discussion of digitalization discussion crept into the discourse gradually, with differentdiscourses reflected at different points in time and in different government branches; for example,whereas information security discourse focuses on the organization’s job to do something about it,cybersecurity discourses reflects the securitization of the digital space. Using the methodsdeveloped in this project, Wallen suggests we can test hypotheses about changing discourses ofdigitalization against a larger dataset. It was also observed during the questions that this methodenables much faster processing of data, resulting in faster publishing that might contribute to theneoliberalization of the university through faster turnaround time and economic benefits. While notnecessarily something to approve of, it is a reality of digitization.

The second presentation was by Mirva Salminen of the University of Lapland on “Discourses onthe Digitalizing Arctic”, which addressed a multidisciplinary cyber framework for the promotion ofhuman security in the European High North. She indicated that the Arctic is seen as a region in needof development, but those decisions are imposed on the region from the outside. The goal of thisproject is to empower people in the region themselves in the contexts of their everyday lives byreplacing information security/digital information with the individual as the referent object to besecured and the as the subject securing the smoothness of everyday life. This project asks: whatkinds of discourses exist? Where? Led by whom? Who is not present? What do the discourses say,what are they silent about? Are the discourses becoming more coherent or not? What kind of impactare they presumed to have? Salminen outlined five sets of data used in this project: 1. US andFinnish Arctic Council chairmanship programmes and documentation available online; 2. the ArcticEconomic Council’s documents, especially on Arctic broadband; 3. existing research literature ondigitalization in the Arctic (very scarce); 4. the related articles of the Independent Barents Observer;5. the websites of two main Arctic subsea cable operations Quintillion and Cinia. Putting materialand discursive practices together, and using data from sources that address a number of audiencesnot those concentrating on expert technical knowledge, Salminen asks what does digitalization inthe European Arctic look like on the basis of these documents?The findings identify multiple thematic groupings, including: infrastructure (including connectivityand data centres); regional economic development; (lost) entrepreneurial opportunities; improved(public) services based on customer choice; e-health; industrial automation (automatization); smarttraffic and logistics; people’s skills and awareness (need for improvement); and technicalcybersecurity threats and large scale breaches. Overall, security is to a large extent missing from thediscussion, even though digitalization of people’s identification, for example, affects all criticalfunctions in a society. People are seen as users and consumers, and Arctic communities as objects ofdevelopment. Although security is a catchword that makes people take an issue seriously, manyaspects of the digitalizing Arctic are in flux at the moment, and privacy issues exist at manydifferent levels: technical level, state level, and an international human rights level, as reflected inthe recent EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) policy.

The third presentation was an overview of a new project by Gerald Zojer of the University ofLapland on “Open Source Software Solutions as a Contribution to Human Security in a DigitalizingArctic”. He emphasized that digital technologies are already very present in the European Arctic,and that digital society is real, though less so in Russia and in the North American Arctic. In the

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Nordic countries, digital tools are used for personal and business purposes, and in traditionalactivities like fishing and reindeer herding. At the same time, there has been the growth of nationaldigitalization agendas, with regional (sub-state) strategies and interregional agendas resulting in thesecuritization of cyberspace. Common features of these different levels is that they are stillsomewhat state-centric; cyber-security strategies follows a traditional security approach, the state isthe main referent object, they are techno-deterministic (seen as benefiting people, with littlequestion of negative impacts, or what of people who can’t or don’t take part in digitalization). Thereis very little reference to regional context for opportunities and challenges.Zojer suggests that digitalization affects all spheres of human security in the Arctic: economic (newbusinesses, opportunities); community (staying in contact, language practice); environmental (lesstravelling, higher energy and resource demand); food security (hunting and gathering efficiency,information sharing); political (enables political participation, civil society collaboration), health(telemedicine), personal security (duress alarms, SAR, first aid). Going forward, this project intendsto look at the impacts of digitization on reindeer herding in Lapland. Some aspects to be studiedinclude GPS tracking leading to: increased efficiency (economic security) and less travel necessary(environmental and health security), improved livestock control (food security), impact on cultureand identity (community security), and negative impacts on cultural knowledge of not being on theland. Gerald also predicts that future use of drones to help drive/herd reindeer will mean less use ofATVs, resulting in fewer accidents and less damage to local ecosystems, and that herders replacedby automation in the reindeer industry may be able to find other ways of being involved throughtechnology. An important additional consideration is whether the software used to support thesedigital activities is proprietary or open source code. Zojer argues that buying proprietary code is a‘black box’ where, by design, you don’t know what it’s doing. By contrast, open source code can beused and changed, creating greater transparency because individuals know what the code is doingand decrease their dependence on large software companies. Overall, he argues that promoting opensource software may help to improve the human security of people in the Arctic region due to thegreater control and opportunities for ownership of technology, local creation of value, culturalcontinuity, and possibilities for pan-Arctic cooperation. The question session produced a livelydiscussion, and a general agreement that whether or not digitalization is a positive development forhuman security in the Arctic will ultimately be determined by communities themselves, which mustjudge the positive and negative aspects of the trade-offs that are involved.

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Session in Kirkenes (Photo by Clemens Jöbstl)

Friday, June 8Kola Science Centre, Apatity

Session 9: “Regional Development of the Russian Arctic”(Rapporteurs: Daria Shvets & Egill Thor Nielsson)

• A. ChaparginaThe investment processes and savings activities of the population of the Russian Arctic: is there a connection?

• Maxim GutenevThe development of the Northern Sea Route as a strategic goal of the Arctic policy of Russia

• Dmitry KurnosovNo Divides in Permafrost – Applying Political and Legal Methods to Minority Representation in the Russian Arctic

• Svetlana TuinovaThe dynamics of global and national factors in Russian Arctic

• Larissa RiabovaLocal community based research in the Arctic – the Russian perspective

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The session was held at the Kola Science Center in Apatity and was started with the welcomingwords by Larissa Riabova and Ludmila Ivanova – research staff at the Luzin Institute for EconomicStudies KSC RAS. The first report by Anastasia Chapargina was dedicated to the economicsituation of the local population in the Arctic, its income and savings in terms of the investmentactivity in the region. Anastasia showed that high savings do not necessarily lead to investments inthe Arctic because in contrast to other Russian regions, the investment climate in the Arctic isdifferent and the potential for investments is lower. Though the income of local population in theArctic is relatively high, the investments in the local economy are not high though. As a result, thesavings of local population do not significantly impact the economic growth and investment activityin the region. The discussion started with the explanation that savings of local people are notorganized and have no definite structure. That is why it is not the main factor of investments and thepopulation is not involved in the process. The investments in the region are mainly made by bigcorporations and holdings. It was followed by the question whether the savings structure is differentfor indigenous and non-indigenous people. The population makes savings but hold them forpurposes other than investing in the local economy. Finally, the question was addressed to themethodology of research. In order to count the savings of the population the statistical state’s datasuch as salaries, taxes, and expenses were used.

The second presenter Maxim Gutenev addressed the role of the Northern Sea Route (the “NSR”) forthe development of the Russian Federation. The emphasis was given to the advantages which theNSR gives in terms of safety, navigation, and transportation. The Russian government treats thisarea as an important tool for the development of the Russian economy because of the naturalresources located there. The government announced the increase of transportation volume in thisregion up to 80 million tons of goods. The interest to use the NSR was also expressed by severalother states. However, Maxim presented the point of view that there are several problems relating tothe realization of this plan. There are barriers for foreign companies such as long-term perspectiveof investments, high costs, and environmental matters as well as the policy and legal mattersrelating to the NSR. Because of this reason some companies may be skeptical about investing in thedevelopment of the NSR. Finally, Maxim proposed several solutions on how to overcome thesebarriers. In particular, by cooperation with foreign partners, soft diplomacy, explanation of existingrules, development of a comprehensive plan for implementation, etc. The discussion started with therole of Polar Code in the use of the NSR. The Polar Code established certain rules for the protectionof the marine environment and not all the companies are able to follow its requirements whenplanning their activities in the Arctic. However, it was mentioned that the Polar Code, in fact, ismore liberal then the Russian Federation national legislation applicable to the NSR. The discussionthen turned to the matter of security and safety, and how it is defined in the context of the NSR. Inparticular, on the recent meeting in Saint Petersburg it was discussed that there should be a specialagency established for being in charge of the NSR. The next question was devoted to the digitalinfrastructure along the NSR. There is currently GLONASS system (analogue of GPS) exists andseveral satellites are planned to be used in order to provide the telecommunications. Finally, thediscussion ended with the constructive criticism of the plans to develop the NSR addressed inofficial statements and documents as well as promoted by other researchers.

The presentation by Dmitry Kurnosov was devoted to the participation of indigenous minoritygroups in the elections to local governments. Dmitry explained that some regions have specialquotas reserved for the indigenous people in local parliaments. The example of elections in theCaucasus region was given in contrast to the indigenous people on the high north. While in theCaucasus region the elections were successful and the dominant driven factor was the ethnicity, on

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the high north the number of voters was so small that no seats were allocated to indigenous peoplein the local government. Though the European Court of Human Rights expressed the position thatthe right to vote is a political right of the indigenous people, the instrument of quotas in the localgovernment which could be a decision, in this case, was rejected by the Supreme Court of theRussian Federation. The idea supported by the Supreme Court is that quotas could apply as aremedy for discrimination, but nobody was discriminated in this case. Finally, the conclusion wasgiven where Dmitry specified that currently, northern indigenous people’s representation in localgovernments exist without a well-developed legal framework. The discussion started with thecomparison of the Caucasus and Arctic regions and it was emphasized that the Caucasus haddifferent conditions in the implementation of the voting rights. Then, a suggestion to develop aresearch by adding the Yamal and Taimyr regions was given and also Tatarstan and Bashkortostanwere mentioned in this context. It was followed by a question about other minority groups in Russiaand why the choice was done in favour of the Caucasus and Arctic regions. Dmitry approached theissue of indigenous people representation from the legal point of view and chose those regionshaving quotas for the representation of indigenous people in their national legislation.

The next presentation was given by Svetlana Tiunova and was devoted to the local economicdevelopment in the Arctic in terms of energy projects. The emphasis was given to the concept of the“blue economy” promoted by Gunter Pauli. Several examples of the blue economy were given. Inparticular, in the local scale such as, for instance, growing mushrooms using the garbage foragricultural purposes. After this, the Russian Federation’s attitude to the blue economy wasdiscussed. In the documents on the energy security of the Russian Federation the followingcontroversial trends could be identified: cooperation or isolation, private or state control of thebusiness, market-driven or administrative economy. It appears that the Russian Federation does nothave a long-term strategy on this. On the opposite, only short-term goals are followed. Currently,there are several energy projects taking place in the Arctic including the nuclear power station, thereare nuclear ships and some other energy infrastructure is coming soon. In conclusion, it was saidthat in order to be able to develop the energy infrastructure in the Arctic the Russian Federationshall be open for cooperation with other countries involved as well as take joint decisions on energyissues. The discussion started with the clarification of the concept of the blue economy and givingmore examples of it. It was emphasized that extra investments in the development of the Arcticmust be done by large companies but in the Russian realities money often come abroad instead ofinvesting to the local communities. During the discussion, some similarities were found in theeconomic situation of small towns in Austria. Finally, the last question was addressed to the nuclearplants, whether it is really a progressive and innovative technology. It was clarified that nuclearenergy is not something unusual and the place for it is reserved in the Arctic. It provides necessaryfacilities for people living there and is needed for supporting the Northern Sea Route.

The final presentation in this session was given by Larissa Riabova. The report was dedicated to theresearch of the local communities in the Arctic from the Russian perspective. The general conceptof the “community studies” has many definitions and is applicable in many social sciences as amethod of research. It utilizes quantitative and qualitative approaches, in particular, interviews,networks and remote sensing. From the perspective of applying community studies methods to theArctic communities among the challenges the following were mentioned: allocation of localinterest, receiving consent from people to be interviewed, ethical issues, privacy, need of permissionfrom the local authorities, misunderstanding and selective reporting such as highlighting onlypositive or only negative things. Then the development and changes in the concept of thecommunity studies were given. At the end of the presentation, it was mentioned that there is still a

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controversy whether the community studies can apply to the local level while traditionally they areassociated with state and regional levels in the Russian social science. Among the lessons learned itwas specified that the Russian social science in community studies lacks a theoretical background inthe circumstances of different approaches with foreign colleagues, and comparative networksbetween states contribute the knowledge more than studies within one particular state. The firstquestion was about the impact left on the local communities and how to prevent the situation whenresearchers are not welcomed anymore. It was emphasized that researchers shall be cautious aboutlocal people and try to increase the comfortability. It was followed by the discussion whether it isimportant or not to be from the same culture or speak the same language with local communities. Itwas concluded that it depends on the concrete research but in any case, a researcher shall keep theobjectivity. Finally, the concept of trust between the researcher and local people elaborated byRachel Botsman was evaluated in the context of the Arctic, its applicability to the localcommunities and information security.

Saturday, June 9Kola Science Centre, Apatity

Session 10: “Energy Solutions for Russian Arctic”(Rapporteur: Laura Olsén)

• Anastasia GasnikovaFactors of Energy Supply in the Arctic Regions of Russia

• Hilma SalonenRenewable energy solutions for Russian Arctic off-grid settlement: network of distancies and dependencies

• S.A. BerezikovStructural Changes in Industry of the Russian Arctic Regions

The tenth session started with the presentation Fuel supply solutions in off-grid areas of SakhaRepublic: Networks of influence and dependencies given by Hilma Salonen from the University ofHelsinki, Finland. Salonen discussed about the networks of energy supplies in the Russian Arcticand especially in the region of Sakha Republic. The usage of renewable energy sources hasincreased recently but also traditional sources are still used. Salonen approaches her topic throughnetworking analysis and has created a network map based on her previous studies. The conversationafter the presentation touched upon e.g. questions concerning the road infrastructure duringdifferent seasons and different energy producers. When it comes to production of renewable energy,the markets are open also for the private companies, even though the number of private enterprisesis lower than state owned companies. Suggestions to view also the relationships inside of thenetwork was raised.

The second speaker of the sessions was Anastasia Gasnikova from the Luzin Institute for EconomicStudies KSC RAS, Russia. The title of the presentation was Factors of Energy Supply in the Arctic

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Regions of Russia. In her presentation, Gasnikova viewed the factors impacting on the energysupply in the Russian Arctic. Main factors listed in the presentation were: natural resources factors,economical factors, social factors, technological factors and ecological factors. Different factors areinterconnected and the dynamics between different levels from global to regional vary. In theconversations afterwards, also the institutional and political factors were discussed. The differenceswithin the region of the Russian federation e.g. in infrastructure between south and north seem tocreate challenges.

The last presentation of the session Structural Changes in Industry of Russian Arctic Regions wasgiven by S.A. Berezikov as well representing the Luzin Institute for Economic Studies KSC RAS,Russia. Berezikov focused in his presentation on structural changes in the Russian Arctic regionsbetween mining, manufacturing and energy sector. Despite of some changes, mining is still keepingits strong position in the region. After the presentation especially the reduction in the manufacturingsectors were discussed. In general, the session gave a good overview of the recent energydevelopments in the Arctic regions in Russia.

Session 11: “Russian Discourses on the Arctic”(Rapporteurs: Kaoliina Hurri and Evgeny Zarov)

• Alexander SerguninThe Russian discourse on human security in the Arctic

• Ludmila IvanovaMarine Plastic Pollution in the Arctic: origin, status, costs and incentives for Prevention (international project MARP)

• Anna and Valentina MaretskayaStrategic directions of agricultural policy in Murmansk region

• Elena KlyuchnikovaThe reasons of changing migration strategies in the small Arctic towns (Apatity, Kirovsk, Murmansk region)

• Alexandra SmirnovaRussian problematique in activities of Finnish and Norwegian peace organizations

The last presentations of the Calotte Academy 2018 were held in session 11 on Saturday 9th June inKola Science Centre, in Apatity. The theme “Russian Discourses on the Arctic” covered topicsabout human security, marine pollution, agricultural policy, migration and peace organizations.Professor Alexander Sergunin (St. Petersburg State University) discussed the concept of humansecurity from the viewpoint of different Russian foreign policy schools: Globalists have a broaderunderstanding of human security than neorealists or neoliberals as they attempt to cover all sevendimensions of human security mentioned in the UN definition from 1994. All in all, the securitydimensions can be identified on the regional level but the concept of human security is new for theRussian political discourse especially on the federational level. However, Sergunin highlighted thepotential of human security for gradually gaining a momentum in decision-making as well. The

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discussion tackled the possible differences between Russian and Western schools and noted that theschools are international by nature. Hence, it is difficult to not to result in the same conclusions.Sergunin also noted several policy schools of the conception: neorealism, neoliberalism, globalismcontaining sustainable development and postpositivism with the next generation – socialconstructivism and post-colonial sub-schools. There are some barriers to embedding the humansecurity concept to Russian security policy (for instance anti-globalism). In questions andcomments there was a discussion about attending of the speaker and the possibility of the Russiandiscourse being applied to the European practice. The speaker indicated a political preferences tothe globalism and neoglobalism. And he mentioned that European discourse is more divers thenRussian one and its conclusions are sometimes completely different.

Ludmila Ivanova (Senior Researcher, Luzin Institute for Economic Studies) presented the outcomesof the marine plastic pollution project MARP organized in 2016-2018 in participation with Norway,UK and Russia. It is important there is not only scientific partners are included but also industry likefishing company. Plastic production and consumption have increased resulting in growth of plasticpollution. According to the latest research, microplastic poses even more dangerous threat, forexample, to animals’ organs than previously anticipated. The project included workshops, fieldworkand a survey for the fishing industry distributed in 2018. The preliminary results showed adifference in the answer coverage between Norway and Russia and revealed awareness for theillegal dumbing. Nonetheless, the regional fishing industries identified themselves not to be the onlyguilty ones for the pollution. The conclusion and discussion urged the need to strengthen theknowledge base and awareness in the future, in addition to, establishing recommendations for thefishing industry.

Researchers Anna and Valentina Maretskaya (Luzin Institute for Economic Studies, Kola ScienceCentre, Russian Academy of Sciences) have investigated the agricultural policy of Murmanskregion. It is divided in 3 areas: economic, ecology and society. The objective was to understand thestrategic directions in social, economic and ecological issues necessary to effectively develop thepolicy. The main documents guiding the development are identified as State program of theMurmansk region for the period of 2014-2020 and the socio-economic development strategy for2020 and 2025. The discussion focused on the quantitative data about the region between 2012 and2016 and the impact of inflation and sanctions on the numbers. The import of selected products tothe region had increased by nearly ten percentages to 89%-96%.

Elena Klyuchnikova explained the modern changes in migration strategies in the small Arctictowns. Apatity was used as an example. About 35% of the population was moved since 1991. Asurvey was carried out with the main aim to define differences about migration reasons in 2013 and2015 years. In 2013 it was easy to find 22 respondents. All agreed that mining is important for thepeople. The main reason for migration was related to worrys about the economical crisis andmigrants. One of the reason was that PhosAgro policy has been changed since 2010 and cityfinancial support went down. In 2018 it was extremely difficult to find respondents. 2 focus-groupswere used. Most of the students plan to move after their defence. They see now a perspective there.The old generations are not enthusiastic about their future. Most of the people did not like to discussanything related to the PhosAgro company. In the Soviet time workers were placed on the top ofhierarchy. Now it is flipped up. It was mentioned that it is the same problem for whole world.Population of small towns goes down.

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In the final presentation Alexandra Smirnova told her vision of the Russian problematic of Finnishand Norwegian peace organizations. She told about a concept of peace, different organizationsactivities and their location. Also it was presented several examples of peace organization from thepast (USSR, Finland, Norway examples). Additionally NATO was examined a critically. Thediscussion was opened with questions about the opinion of peace organizations in Russia aboutcurrent aggression. There were some group protests but the peace organization disappeared in the1990s. But 2 soldier organizations (like Soldier’s Mothers) exist, and they relate mostly to humanrights. Generally this topic started to develop in the 1980s but it was found much earlier. Thespeakers are oriented mostly on the evolution of violence. The question was raised about theopinion to the fake protests. It is relevant, because it is used only for the creation of negative publicopinion. Social media plays important role there.

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Abstracts in Alphabetical Order

Danko AleksicExpertThe Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC)[email protected]

Is the “Far North” too far? - The Arctic from the Perception of the Western Balkan Countries

During the last few decades, the Western Balkan (WB) region was an arena for outrages conflicts. Ithas also been a scene on which several historical “hard security” breakthroughs took place: the firstever NATO “out of area” intervention (in 1995), the first ever NATO’s use of force without theUNSC approval (in 1999), the first ever mission conducted within the European Security andDefense Policy (ESDP) as well as the first ever military mission in the history of the EU conductedunder the Berlin Plus Agreement. Legacy of the recent history is still present: the region iscomposed of states with very low level of mutual trust while some parts of the region may still beconsidered as “frozen conflicts”. Notwithstanding, the WB region is very “introvert” in perceivingsecurity.

Taking into consideration the present situation and security dynamic in the WB region,this paper is aimed to answer if the WB countries are interested in the Arctic region (especially in itssecurity aspects) and in what scope. It will provide an analysis of the national security and foreignpolicy strategies of the WB countries as well as political and public discourse, trying to identify theArctic related issues. The paper will also provide an analysis of contexts in which the Arctic ispresent in press in the WB region.

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Giuseppe AmatulliPhd Candidate / ResearcherFaculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland and Sustainable Development Research Group ofthe Arctic [email protected]

Abstract resources: enhance equality to promote Sami people’s rights in the Finnish and Swedish context

The enjoyment of human rights in Nordic countries should not be taken for granted. Indeed, theremay be cases in which indigenous people can experience various extent of discrimination, due totheir personal situation, characteristics, etc.

By analyzing the concept of equality and discrimination within the legal framework ofFinland and Sweden, Giuseppe Amatulli aims at exploring whether human rights are perceived asresources in the two Nordic countries. The analysis focuses on three important rights that Sámi

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mailto:[email protected]


people living in the Arctic part of the two countries, as well as outside their homeland (Sápmi),should enjoy. Precisely, the right to receive education in their native language, the right not to bediscriminated in work places and the right to be included in decision-making when their lands andresources are at stake will be analyzed.

By exploring the existing legislation and the role that National Human RightsInstitutions and the Ombudsmen have in the two countries, the chapter aims to demonstrate thatHuman Rights Institutions and the legal framework of the two Arctic countries can be seen asimportant “abstract resources”. Thus, such resources can be fundamental in order to face presentand future human rights related challenges, while enhancing Sámi people’s rights by contributing toshape a modern and lively human rights legislation.

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Mia BennettAssistant ProfessorThe University of Hong [email protected]

How the Frontier Makes the Nation: Comparing Arctic Discourses in 20th-Century America and 21st-Century China

Why are certain societies drawn to creating frontier imaginaries, and why do some regions like theArctic persist as frontier spaces in such imaginaries? This research seeks to trace national visionsand imaginings of the Arctic across time and space to understand the narratives, metaphors, andstories that are used to (re)create frontier imaginaries. I compare the frontier imaginaries of twomajor powers: America in the 20th century and China in the 21st century. While the United Stateswas seeking to develop Alaska and pursue northerly military and economic ambitions from the late1800s to the postwar period, China is now promoting a global vision of an Arctic region that thecountry’s government would like to help sustainably develop. Comparison of these two nationalimaginaries about the Arctic illustrates the constancies embedded within projects of frontier-makingdespite taking place in two different time periods and countries. A comparison of these two nationalnarratives also indicates that rather than countries “making” the frontier, it is, in fact, the frontierthat helps make the country, whether it is America trying to be a nation that lives up to its project offrontier expansion and manifest destiny or China striving for recognition as a global power. A richerunderstanding of how the frontier helps make the country rather than the inverse helps explain whysome spaces persistently remain, in national imaginings, underdeveloped and subjected to outsidedesigns for improvement even if their development and connectivity to the rest of the world actuallydoes change. I argue that for countries to have ambitions beyond their borders, they must alwayshave a frontier.

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S.A. BerezikovSenior ResearcherLuzin Institute for Economic Studies KSC [email protected]

Structural Changes in Industry of the Russian Arctic Regions

The study discusses the problems of structural changes in the industry of the arctic regions ofRussia. To this end, an analysis of structural shifts in the extractive and manufacturing industries, aswell as in production and distribution of electricity, gas and water, has been conducted. The studyperiod is from 2005 to 2015, the base year is 2005.

The analysis showed structural changes in gross value added in mining, processingindustries, as well as in production and distribution of electricity, gas and water in the northern andarctic regions. The performed calculations are evidence of the preservation of structuraldisproportions in the industry of arctic regions, manifested in the increase in the share of mineralswith a simultaneous decrease in the share of processing industries and shares of electricity, gas andwater production.

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A. ChaparginaResearcherLuzin Institute for Economic Studies KSC [email protected]

The investment processes and savings activities of the population of the Russian Arctic: is there a connection?

Stable socio-economic development of the region needs significant amounts of investmentresources. Today the finding of these resources is particularly relevant. In the Arctic regions ofRussia the problem of finding the investment resources is exacerbated by the fact that the regionsare separate from the economic centers of the country, have poor transport infrastructure, high levelof working-age population outflow, underdevelopment of social and financial infrastructure, highcost of living and increased expenses for life support. In the context of geopolitical tension, unstableeconomic situation and budget deficit, it is necessary to mobilize domestic regional sources ―population savings.

The study of the volume and structure of savings, as well as the population income,showed that the following pattern is observed in the Arctic regions: savings increasing is connectedto periods of rising income, and vice versa. The saving activity of peoples in the crisis year of 2014was at its lowest level since 2010. In Russia and the Arctic regions (with the exception Chukotkaand Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Districts), there was a maximum decline in the population savingsand a maximum decline in the incomes of peoples. But the savings activity of the population hasrecovered in all regions, except for the Chukotka Autonomous District in 2015. The population haschanged the consumer model to a savings model. Savings model, on the one hand, is a cause offurther consumption reduction, and on the other hand, it allows savings to become a resource forfuture investment growth.

With regard to investment activity, this indicator tends to decline (the exception of2015) in Russia. A mixed picture emerges in the Arctic regions of Russia. That is possible toobserve "bouncing" changes of investment activity. The Arctic regions are not distinguished by high

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investment activity of the population. The average of investment activity of the population wasalmost twice lower than the Russian average for 2010-2015.

In this connection, it is interesting to note that the regions with low investment activityof the population have more favorable state of the investment processes and vice versa. Forexample, the Murmansk region has high investment activity of the population and the lowestindicators of fixed capital investment.

Thus, the savings and investment activities of the population in the Arctic regions donot have a tangible impact on the investment process. Population savings of the Arctic regions ofRussia remain unclaimed, but a possible internal resource of

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Anne FigenschouAdvisorUiT – The Arctic University of Norway – Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education – The Barents [email protected]

Welcome to Kirkenes. Town, isolated village, or capital?

Kirkenes is the administrative center of the municipality of Sør-Varanger. There are 10227 residentsin Sør-Varanger, while in Kirkenes there are approximately 4000 inhabitants. The people in Kirkenes live in a borderland, 20 minutes from Russia, and 40 minutes from Finland.Kirkenes has status as a city. Some would refer to Kirkenes as a town, someone would call it anisolated village. Others again, claim Kirkenes is a capital. The capital of the Barents Region. Tostart with the beginning, mining industry is an important part of Kirkenes’ history. Kirkenes wasbuilt around the mine AS Sydvaranger in 1906. Consequently, parts of the mine industry are locatedin the middle of the city center. Iron ore from Sydvaranger in Bjørnevatn was processed andshipped out as iron pellets from Kirkenes in 1906. The production ceased in 1996 and reopened in2009. Yet again, the mine was declared bankrupt in November 2015. 400 workers suddenly foundthemselves as unemployed, four weeks before Christmas. Along the years, industry has been of vitalimportance to Kirkenes. In 1993, the location also became crucial to Kirkenes, as it was informallyrecognized as the capital of the Barents Region. Border crossing activities became more and morecommon. In 2010, Russia and Norway ratified the Treaty on Maritime delimitation and cooperationin the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. It took 40 years to agree on the border at sea. Cooperationwas doing great. In 2012 border residents were granted a visa free regime –we may travel withoutvisa in the border area. Desiring to facilitate development of contacts among people as an essentialcondition for the sustainable development of economic, social and cultural cooperation. 2014however, became a turning point. Russian military actions in Crimea caused reactions and againcounter reactions. Sanctions followed, and so did political tension. The political climate makes itmore important than ever to continue dialogue and maintain the people to people contact.

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Anastasia GasnikovaResearcherLuzin Institute for Economic Studies KSC [email protected]

Factors of Energy Supply in the Arctic Regions of Russia

Arctic zone of Russia as a whole has considerable energy resources. However, some regions faceserious problems with energy supply. Organization of energy supply in the Arctic regions isdetermined by different factors. Natural-resource factors mean the existence of the energy resourcesof different types (fossil fuel resources, hydro power resources, alternative energy resources) on theterritory. Group of economical factors includes demand for energy, profitability of using localenergy resources or delivering resources from other regions, economic efficiency of building energyfacilities (power stations, transmission lines, enterprises specialized in extraction and processingfossil fuels). In this regard, it would be necessary to take into account that costs of production arehigher due to severe conditions (low temperatures, long heating period, the significant differencesin temperature during the year, strong winds, and others), and energy intensity of the economy ishigher in the Arctic regions. Social factors are associated with the important social role of energysupply. That is why the decisions of construction of new energy objects or delivering fuel resourcesto the remote Arctic areas can be made even in the case of their economic inefficiency.Technological factors mean availability of energy technologies. Used technologies must be reliablein severe climate conditions. Ecological factors mean the necessity to consider the ecologicalrestrictions. Any activities in energy sector must not cause unacceptable damage to the Arcticenvironment. All the factors work together and determine the organization of energy supply in theArctic regions.

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Sander Bernadus GoesResearcherFaculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, UiT – The Arctic University of NorwayThe Barents [email protected]

Wise-guy, outsider or trespasser? The EU’s different roles in the development of the European part of the Barents region.

The EU outlines in its Arctic policy that it is in the world’s and not only the region’s interest that theArctic is governed in a sustainable, prosperous, safe and stable manner. EU’s interest in Arcticgovernance has an economic and environmental incentive in addition to the fact that two of itsmember states have territories in the Arctic. The aim of my presentation is to illustrate how theEuropean Union (EU) is influencing, or trying to influence, the development of the European partof the Barents region. I intend to do this by discussing the different roles of the EU in their attemptto exercise influence in Arctic governance. Analyzing EU’s Arctic policy documents from the endof the 1990s enables us to frame several discourses each emphasizing what kind of role the EUplays, or has the potential to play in Arctic governance. The following discourses will be discussed:1) the EU as an active partner in the establishment and implementation of international norms, 2)The EU as a regulator in enforcing EU legislation, 3) The EU as observer of intergovernmentalbodies outlining Arctic policy, and 4) The EU as bestower of knowledge and scientific research.

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Attention will also be given to the lack of sound strategies among many member states in additionto other more urgent challenges such as Brexit, refugee crisis, financial crisis etc. taking EU’s focusaway from Arctic questions.

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Wilfrid GreavesAssistant ProfessorUniversity of [email protected]

Protesting Insecurity: Securitization and Resistance to Environmental Change and Natural Resource Extraction

As the circumpolar Arctic region has experienced increased interest in natural resource extraction -including oil, gas, and minerals - it has also become the site of acts of protest and resistance tomany of these industrial projects. Across the region, civil society actors, including NGOs, activistgroups, and Indigenous governments and organizations, have expressed their views that continuedresource extraction poses serious threats to local environments, the global biosphere, human healthand wellbeing, and Indigenous identities and cultural practices. Faced with continued support fornatural resource extraction by state and sub-state Arctic governments, non-state actors opposed tothese projects have increasingly employed a range of protest and resistance tactics to impederesource extraction activities.

This paper examines protests against natural resource extraction in the Arctic using thetools of securitization theory, which is an analytical approach that explains how security issuesbecome socially constructed. Drawing on contributions to securitization theory that emphasize non-verbal and unwritten ways of expressing insecurity, it argues that protests are examples ofphysically performed, or 'bodily enacted', security claims that are undertaken by non-state actorswhen they are unable to have their spoken or written arguments about the threats of resourceextraction and human-caused climate change accepted by the state or other powerful actors. In thisrespect, protests are not merely an expression of dissenting views within a society; they can alsofunction as ways to identify security threats and sources of danger that states and other powerfulactors refuse to acknowledge or effectively respond to. This argument is supported with evidencefrom three recent cases: the Greenpeace 'Arctic 30' protestors in Russia's northern waters in 2013;the Gállok protests against new mines in northern Sweden, also in 2013; and protests against theCanadian territory of Yukon's decision to allow mining in the Peel River region against theobjections of the region's Indigenous peoples. This paper thus contributes to understanding thenature of security and insecurity across the Arctic region, and the strategic behaviour of non-stateactors trying to limit further damage to the natural environment and affected human communities.

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Maxim GutenevAssociate Professor Department of political science, South Ural State University (National Research University)[email protected]

The development of the northern sea route as a strategic goal of the arctic policy of Russia

The abstract is devoted to assessing the development prospects of the Northern sea route (NSR). Inthe article the author examines the main concerns of international investors and partners about thecommercial viability of the NSR. The author proposes to deliberately and systematically implementthe strategic objectives for the Arctic development, to create a comprehensive plan for theimplementation of measures aimed at the development of forecasts for the development of the NSR.Despite the considerable international interest in the Russian Arctic from potential foreign partnersand investors, there are also great concerns about the commercial viability of the NSR. Forexample, in the foreign shipbuilding and shipping companies who would be interested in thedevelopment of the NSR, there is no single point of view about the prospects of this transportcorridor. Single point of view about prospects of development of the NSR there is also the foreignresearchers of the Arctic. In the issue of active use of the Northern route has a lot of the issues thatshould be considered. The main problems today are political, economic and internal corporatebarriers. One of the main vectors of development of the NSR in the twenty-first century should bethe development of cooperation with foreign partners, aimed at the harmonization of rules andregulations on the using of the Northern sea corridor, as well as comprehensive work on improvingits reputation and image. Due to the recent climatic changes, the development of the North sea route canbecome quite promising. Navigation will be possible throughout, as well as in the coastal zone.There is a chance that, with due attention to this transport corridor in the future, it can become oneof the main cargo routes on earth, and the process of hydrocarbon production in the Arctic inconnection with the melting of ice will be much easier. One of the main vectors of the developmentof the NSR in the XXI century should be the development of cooperation with foreign partnersaimed at harmonizing the rules and regulations for the use of the Northern sea corridor.

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Lassi HeininenProfessor, University of Lapland & Senior Research Scholar (associate) at [email protected]

Special features of Arctic geopolitics in globalization

In spite of turbulence and uncommon instabilities in world politics, the early-21st century Arctic iswith high geopolitical stability based on international, institutionalized Arctic cooperation. Behindare several common interests, which the Arctic states and Arctic Indigenous peoples share, inparticular to avoid military confrontation and maintain peace and stability in the region. Further,due to the wicked problems the Arctic faces - i.e. the combination of (long-range) pollution &climate change – functional cooperation on environmental protection will be continued, as well asthe transfer of the region for scientific and educational purposes to enhance sustainabledevelopment. The globalized Arctic based on intensive, international cooperation and highgeopolitical stability, and having nine of the ten biggest economies involved in, is an exceptional

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geopolitical space & context in world politics and IR. Among special features of Arctic geopoliticsare: the region has become part of global, multi-dimensional change with significant worldwideimplications - the Arctic is a tipping point for the entire EarthSystem -; Arctic security andgeopolitics are combined and closely related to the environment, and final, the environment mattersa lot. The presentation will describe why the high geopolitical stability seems to be resilient, evenexceptional. It will analyze major common interests of the Arctic states as reasons to cause atransformation from confrontation to environmental cooperation, as well as prerequisites whichmade possible to start cooperation and build high stability. Final, the presentation recognizes andanalyzes what might the certain special features of Arctic geopolitics in globalization, and wouldthey have potential for to generalize as learned lessons for world politics and its powertransformation.

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Jussi HuotariResearcher, PhD CandidateAleksanteri Institute, University of [email protected]

The Barents Sea and the evolvement of energy security

This article addresses to the question of evolving security framework in the Barents Sea petroleumdevelopment. The Barents Sea is often portrayed as a “next frontier” for oil and gas operationsunderlining the aspect of future, something that actors both in and outside the region eagerly lookforward to open for extraction. Thus, the Barents Sea in terms of petroleum development includeshigh hopes and dreams of progress. Furthermore, the framework of security is linked to theavailability of resources to the benefit of global economy. In this article, I illustrate how energysecurity framework is on one hand constructed and on the other hand used as a part of broadernarratives of modernity and further to progress in the socio-economic development. The resourceextraction in the Barents Sea should hence to be examined as a part of global energy systems andproduction networks. Simultaneously with the increasing global energy demand concerns over thesustainability of current energy system are growing, which has partly influenced to the evolvementof the concept of energy security.

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Karoliina HurriPhD studentFaculty of Social Sciences , University of [email protected]

The Arctic Strategy of China: The discourse of climate change

From geopolitical perspective, China is an interesting key player in international climatenegotiations because of its economic growth, energy demand, great CO2 emissions and rising greatpower status. Domestic questions like air pollution, growing class and regional wealth differentialsand energy security are increasing the domestic pressure to act on climate change and influencingChina’s climate policy. Climate change already poses a national security threat to China which is

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acknowledged for example in the latest five-year plan as stronger targets for sustainable economicgrowth.

Geopolitical discourses are dynamic explanatory systems which are used to justify thepractices and decisions to the people and international community. As threats are often framed asapproaching from outside the community, global environmental threats, like climate change, haspotential to build or reinforce the inclusion and exclusion process of the community’s boundaries.

In January 2018, China published an Arctic Strategy. This presentation tries tounderstand how climate change is negotiated on national and global level in different contextsbecause identity is built also within the security discourses. This presentation is interested inChina’s framing of climate change in the Arctic. It also attempts to compare the climate changediscourses of the Arctic Strategy with the framings from other forums of China’s climate policy likethe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In the UNFCCC context climate change has often been produced as a geopoliticalthreat with inequality discourses in a dualistic worldview of developing and developed countries.This argumentation is based on developing countries’ lower historical emissions which is not highlyrelevant within the Arctic context. It is also becoming vaguer since it has been forecasted thatChina’s historical contribution to the global emissions will surpass that of the United States by the2040s. However, in both contexts, UNFCCC and Arctic, China needs to justify its relative positionto others. How is climate change discussed in the Arctic Strategy and does it correspond with thediscourses of China within the UNFCCC context?

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Ludmila IvanovaSenior ResearcherLuzin Institute for Economic Studies KSC [email protected]

Marine Plastic Pollution in the Arctic: origin, status, costs and incentives for Prevention (international project MARP)

The Arctic is one of the least polluted areas in the world, due to limited population. However, theArctic accumulates certain pollutants transported through air, rivers and ocean currents from distantsources. Plastic pollution is of particular concern due to its abundance, persistence and negativeimpact on wildlife. The growing ocean water pollution with plastic wastes requires a betterunderstanding of the human dimension of the problem, both with respect to how human welfare isaffected by marine waste, and what measures should be implemented in order to improve wastemanagement. The Marine Plastic Pollution in the Arctic: origin, status, costs and incentives forPrevention (MARP) project is intended to deliver new knowledge on the socio-economic costs ofmarine waste that can be used to increase stakeholder awareness, and to identify regulations andincentives that can reduce marine pollution in the Barents Sea area.

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Clemens JöbstlPhD candidateUniversity of [email protected]

Biography for the analysis of modern Arctic societies, a historical analysis of migrants to the Arctic region in the 20th century: The case of Anton Neumeier

Biography for the analysis of modern Arctic societies, a historical analysis of migrants to the Arcticregion in the 20th century: The case of Anton Neumeier.The history of a region can only be fully understood through the lives of its individuals.Throughout the field of artic studies, quantitative research and the analysis of “big politics”determine the history of this region. Historical Arctic studies of the 20th century are no exception.The human experiences during the last decades are neglected between the pages of these statisticalsurveys. The single individual is lost in a sea of data and statistics.

The real history of modern Lapland cannot exclusively be told by quantitative data ofpopulation, economics and policies. The qualitative research, working with personal biographies,can help to close the gap of describing the reality of living in the Arctic region. To quote the greatFrench historian and founder of the “Annales school”, Lucien Febvre who was focusing on regionalstudies: "histoire vue d'en bas et non d'en haut" (history seen from below and not from above). The proposed research aims at contributing to a closure of this gap by discussing the case of AntonNeumeier. His biography shows a specific historic relevance, giving Neumeier an out- as much asan insider-perspective of 20th century Lapland. Born in Austria, he first experienced Lapland as aforeigner who was joining a new culture. During the Nazi occupation of Lapland he was forcedback into a racially defined “Volksgemeinschaft” (people's community) trying to rescue himself tohis chosen Sami community, where he spent the rest of his long life.

Along the line of this case study, the proposed research will scrutinize theMicrohistorical approach and its exponents Carlo Ginzburg and Charles Joyner, who tried to "asklarge questions in small places" by showing the relevance of small scale investigations forcontemporary development. This is important, because also today temporary and permanentmigration affects the individual circumstances of people living in the area.The exploration methods will consist of archive research, searching for literary and other remains,supplemented by interviews with contemporary witnesses.

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Liisa KauppilaPhD Candidate Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku [email protected]

Becoming a primary node of the global economy: China, the Arctic and critical flows

This presentation explores China’s emergence as a ‘primary node’ of the global economy throughan Arctic case study. In order to secure the critical energy, trade and information flows, China aimsto alter its geoeconomic standing vis-a-vis the Arctic through what can be coined as China’sfunctional regionalisation, a process of politico-economic engagement that repositions China in thecentre of global flows. The presentation first introduces the domestic drivers of China’s functionalregionalisation and discusses how Chinese ideas of the necessity of economic growth,

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modernisation and scientific development formulate the basis of the country’s growing globaloutreach. It then focuses on the three different levels of China’s functional regionalisation with theArctic – the country’s infrastructure investments, diplomatic practices and the level of flows,”movement” – and discusses their mutual relationship by suggesting a preliminary model.Theoretically, the presentation builds on Brantly Womack’s (2014) ideas of a multinodal worldorder and primary nodes, and the parallel idea of flow-centric regional and global orders as opposedto territory-centric ones (e.g. Aaltola et al. 2014). Empirically, the study draws evidence from bothChinese and English-language official documents, media texts and interviews of stakeholdergroups. Ultimately, the presentation sheds light on region formation in a flow-centric global system,the nature and mechanisms of China’s rise and the changing politico-economic landscape of theHigh North – in particular in what Bennett (2014) has termed as the ‘Asian-Arctic’ region.

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Elena KlyuchnikovaResearcherInstitute of Industrial Ecology Problems in the North, KSC [email protected]

The reasons of changing migration strategies in the small Arctic towns (Apatity, Kirovsk, Murmansk region)

Despite the vast research on migration in the Murmansk region, little is known about the influenceof corporations’ policy on the people decisions to leave this region. The overall picture that emergesfrom the literature is so: the youth moves to the big south cities to study and never comes back tothe Arctic towns; pensioners also strive to move further south. The regional Universitiesdevelopment is offered as a solution for the first part of the problem. Mining is the main industry inthe region. This study recovers some of the perspectives of the people living in the mining- basedtowns through qualitative interviews with 22 inhabitants of the towns Apatity and Kirvsk. Theseinterviews were taken in the period 2013-2017, when the town-based mining Company “Apatit”was carrying out management reorganization and restructuration which resulted in reduction ofprivileges for its workers. The analysis of these interviews yields the inhabitants' own explanationsthat show people are not waiting for the retirement, which begins five years earlier in comparisonwith the country's southern regions, to move to the south. People in the most productive age, 30-40years old, leave towns Apatity and Kirovsk to have time to base their life in the south. In using alargely untapped source of oral histories with the inhabitants of small Arctic towns where wellbeingdepends on mining company’s policy, this project will contribute to further research on similartopics.

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Peter [email protected]

North American Narratives of the Arctic, and Their Impact on Policy

Broadly speaking, the Arctic regions of the United States and Canada have very few people andlittle industry compared to areas further south. However, these regions have had proportionally amuch more impactful role in North American media and culture. Whether it’s a modern TV showsuch as “Ice Road Truckers”, twentieth century books about intrepid explorers, or the New YorkTimes and the New Yorker’s focus on the environment of the far north, the North American Arcticis mostly portrayed as remote, difficult to survive in, and pristine. Today, the Arctic also has becomethe primary symbol of climate change. Because of the ubiquity of North American media andcinema, these narratives greatly affect how the world sees the Arctic.

This presentation will review narratives of the North American Arctic and how theseconceptions have impacted historic and domestic policies of the United States and Canada – bothdomestically and internationally. It will demonstrate that these Arctic narratives represent both anopportunity to bypass traditional political/military rivalries in favor of pan-Arctic cooperation, aswell as a challenge to understanding the Arctic’s modern complexity.

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Dmitry KurnosovPhD FellowFaculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, affiliated with iCourts - Centre of Excellence for International [email protected]

No Divides in Permafrost – Applying Political and Legal Methods to Minority Representation in the Russian Arctic

My paper uses interdisciplinary methods of legal and political science to assess the application ofdominant political discourse on minority representation in the eight autonomous districts of theRussian High North.

Sometimes even democratic elections can make little difference. This happens whensocieties are deeply divided along ethnic, religious and/or social lines. Then voting is a mere censusand power never really alternates. Political science defines such societies as consociations.Sometimes only external players can change this stalemate, ‘unwinding’ the consociation. Thoseplayers include foreign states and the judiciary. In a federal state, the central government can be anunwinding force.

‘Unwinding’ was a prominent discourse in Russian politics since the early 2000s.Central authorities did not hide their suspicions of the regional leadership in minority-dominatedparts of the country. They were seen as potential separatists and/or inherently backward-oriented.Consequently, federal authorities applied formal and informal means to bring them into line. As partof this broad trend, electoral legislation since 2004 allowed no special treatment of ethnic minoritiesin any part of the country.

The scope of my study includes the five current and three former autonomous districts(okruga) of the Russian High North. They are Nenets, Khanty-Mansi, Yamalo-Nenets, Chukotka,Evenkia, Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) and Koryakia. All of them now have an ethnic Russian majority

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(concentrated mostly in urban centers) and a sizeable indigenous population (mostly in sparselypopulated hinterland). In 1990s, most of them had special electoral rules to benefit the indigenouscommunity, which were gradually abolished from 2004 to 2015.

In my paper, I argue that the ‘unwinding’ discourse ignored the complexities of in theRussian Arctic. Very much unlike in consociations, regional politics of 1990s was often volatile andfiercely competitive. Even formal guarantees of minority representation often proved insufficient.After the ‘unwinding’, regional authorities adopted makeshift solutions to compensate for the lackof formal guarantees. Instead of the ‘unwinding’, a more nuanced approach would benefit all thestakeholders, including the federal authorities.

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Helena Wegend LindbergPhD CandidatePolitical Science and LUCID, Lund [email protected]

The power of maps in a changing Arctic

Recent representations of the Arctic have become closely associated with various business-friendlyopportunities as the land and sea ice is melting. They often represent so-called win-win solutions toclimate change, also for Arctic communities. However, many of the proposed developmentopportunities imagined for the Arctic region will contribute to increased burning of carbon, whetherit is more tourism, mining, shipping, agricultural activities, or oil and gas drilling. In my thesis Iargue that maps are central in building various understandings about opportunities in the Arctic.Moreover, I argue that maps make the Arctic into an abstract space: certain maps influence howgovernments, businesses, and investors think about the Arctic space into an abstract space forpolitical and/or economic gain.

I explore this abstract space making by analysing four maps that shape the currentdiscourses about the Arctic: a world-map using the Mercator-projection; a map showing the Arcticsea-ice variations; a map showing potential oil and gas resources in the Arctic; and lastly, a kids’map of the Arctic. These maps are not only representing reality but part in constituting it. Hence, theact of mapping the Arctic and using maps in political statements and debates becomes part ofshaping Arctic discourses. I develop an analytical framework of analysing maps as discoursefollowing Bacchi’s (1999, 2009) What’s the problem represented to be?-approach, as well asdrawing on critical cartography and visual methods analysis, in order to deconstruct the four maps.Finally, I discuss how maps enable certain social visions for the future of the Arctic region whilesilence other visions.

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Natalia LoukachevaCanada Research Chair in Aboriginal Governance and LawUniversity of Northern British [email protected]

Understanding Perceptions of the Arctic: Legal Studies, Geo-politics and International Developments

Legal issues in the Arctic, as a field of legal studies, have been deeply inter-connected andinfluenced by mega trends both within and outside the Arctic rim. By looking at the evolution ofpolar law, theoretical and methodological approaches, my presentation shall explore discourses onthe Arctic from the prism of legal developments and their nexus with international relations, politicsand global issues. More specifically, it shall look at the role of law in dealing with Arctic matters,the impact of geo-politics, environmental and global pressures on the state of Arctic affairs.

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Anna MaretskayaResearcherLuzin Institute for Economic Studies, Kola Science Centre, Russian Academy of [email protected]

Valentina MaretskayaResearcherLuzin Institute for Economic Studies, Kola Science Centre, Russian Academy of [email protected]

Strategic directions of agricultural policy in Murmansk region

The basic documents defining strategy and development prospects of agroindustrial complex inMurmansk region are considered: 1. The state program of the Murmansk region "Development of agriculture and regulation ofagricultural products markets, raw materials and foodstuffs" for the period 2014-2020. 2. Strategy for socio-economic development of the Murmansk region until 2020 and for the periodup to 2025.These documents define the main priorities of the agrarian policy in agriculture, the mechanism ofstrategic directions for the development of agricultural production, as well as targets and plannedresults.

It is determined the strategic objectives of agricultural policy in the economic sphereis the formation of an effective competitive agro-industrial production through the maximum use ofnatural resource potential and competitive advantages in industry subcomplex; in the social sphere –strengthening of the social orientation of agrarian policy by improving the conditions and quality oflife in rural areas, the creation of new jobs in rural areas for the categories of the workingpopulation, the development of farm and home production, the restoration and development ofsocial engineering infrastructure.

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Daria MishinaPhD studentUniversity of [email protected]

External inflows and Arctic development

Despite the existence of analysis the Arctic in international relations, there is an empirical gap in thescientific research about the complex of external impacts on the Arctic development. Due to the international tensions, the current investments in the Arctic, rising number of the Arcticactors (circumpolar, Northern and non-Arctic countries), previous economic crises, volatile fuelsituation, current strict environmental tendency and increasing interest in the Arctic tourism, Ipropose to investigate how do external factors influence the Arctic development. Especially, weanalyze these impacts through seven fields: 1) finance, 2) science, 3) technology, 4) politics, 5)culture, 6) education and 7) democracy.

Moreover, due to wavy Arctic development and its current new wave, the analysis ofinfluences in the Arctic development across the arctic history will help us to predict furtherscenarios for 50-100 years and build models of further Arctic development. The research willclearly trace the dynamics of the external contribution and involvement of Arctic- and non-Arcticstates in the Arctic regions.

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Ayonghe Akonwi NebasifuPhD ResearcherEnvironmental Sociology , Faculty of Social Science, Arctic Center, University of [email protected]

Environmental measures for Cross-border Cooperation in the Trans-boundary Inari-Pasvic River Basin: A Sociological Perspective

Constructivist and realist theories in sociology argue that, environmental problems encompass material realities constructed via human processes of scientific knowledge, activists’ efforts, and media attention. Though this viewpoint is widely accepted across regional agreements, a debate continues in contemporary context with a case example of the Inari-Pasvic river basin that issituated in the Arctic Circle. It is the trans-boundary between Norway, Finland, and Russia whichrepresents a meeting point between the North-western corner of the Euro-Siberian taiga and thebarren tundra coast of the Barents Sea. The basin is of strategic importance because it is rich inbiodiversity with protected areas such as Vätsäri Wilderness Area, Øvre Pasvik Scenery ProtectionArea, and Øvre Pasvik National Park, which serve as important resting, nesting, and migration sitesfor several birds like whooper swans, ducks, bean gees, and waders, including habitats for brownbears, Wolf, and Eurasian elks.

This area has believably been a home to indigenous Eastern Sami and Inari Samipeople for thousands of years, as well as locals in the municipalities of Pechenga in Russia, Sør-Varanger in Norway and Inari in Finland who arguably immigrated before the 19th century.Livelihoods of the population range from cattle farming, reindeer herding, fishing, ship repairs, tomining. Over the last 20 years, Inari-Pasvic area has been affected by heavy metals and acidifyingsulphur compounds emitted from industry in the Kola Peninsula covering hundreds of squarekilometres. A typical example is the town of Nikel where sulphur dioxide concentration in the air is

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arguably three times greater than the permitted threshold value as indicated in the recent reportsfrom Lapin ELY-Keskus. This sounds conflicting and yet raises geopolitical concerns amongaffected member states in need of better environmental policies and cooperation within the BarentsEuro-Arctic-Council. Therefore, this paper explores recent environmental threats to the Inari-Pasvicriver basin from a sociological perspective. Possible environmental measures for improving uponthe Inari-Pasvic river basin are highlighted based on the context of Barents Euro-ArcticCooperation.

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Egill Thor NielssonExecutive SecretaryChina-Nordic Arctic Research CenterVisiting Scholar, Polar Research Institute of China Visiting Scholar, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies Affiliated Researcher, Institute of International Affairs, University of [email protected]

China-Nordic Arctic Cooperation: Discourses on the depth of regional and bilateral ties

As global governance is moving towards a multipolar world, notably with the increased importanceof Asian countries, it becomes of great importance to reimagining Norden in an evolving world.China, the world’s second-largest economy and largest trader, has reemerged as one of the mostsignificant payers in the evolving world-system, and the Chinese-lead Belt and Road Initiative hasemerged as the overarching international cooperation mechanism of the Chinese government, whileit includes an Arctic dimension with the “Polar Silk Road”. In recent months China’s State Councilof China has published policy papers, including “Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Beltand Road Initiative” and “China ́s Arctic Policy: White Paper” that outline the importance of theArctic region for it’s international cooperation and in May 2017 the Chinese Ministry for ForeignAffairs and the Nordic Council of Ministers’ issued a joint Press Release Strengthening Sino-NordicCooperation, highlighting the importance of topics and venues of importance for collaborationbetween partners within science and business; including innovation, sustainability, and Arcticaffairs.

The paper aims to analyze China-Nordic cooperation both from a regional stance pointas Norden and bilateral cooperation as five sovereign states. The Chinese government has proposeda “5+1” cooperation mechanism between China and the Nordic Countries (Norden) in line withalready established “16+1” cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European(CEE) Countries. The rational being that China-Nordic cooperation could gain significantopportunities by moving the cooperation into a regional framework as it is much more practical fora superpower as China to have a joint platform within a region of smaller states, but such anarrangement also comes with challenges as there can be competing interests within the region.Further complications also come with the fact that within Norden, as is also the case with CEE,there are both European Union (EU) Member States (for Norden: Sweden, Denmark, and Finland)and non-EU Members (Iceland and Norway) that can impact regional building of Norden withexternal non-European partners highly. The theoretical perspective on analysis will be"connectography" while discourses and methods of region-building and research are at theforefront.

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Laura OlsénResearcher, PhD CandidateNorthern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of [email protected]

At the crossroads of western and indigenous epistemologies

Over the course of history research has played its part in the colonialization processes. Also in theNordic countries, some research projects have had devastating consequences for the indigenouscommunities living in the region. The discussion on methodologies used in research conductedwith/in indigenous communities has started to increase lately also among the Finnish academics andit brings within some challenges as well as great opportunities. This presentation will discuss on thelessons learned during two research projects finished in the year 2017 regarding the implementationof traditional ecological knowledge of Sámi to environmental decision-making in Finland andhuman rights and multiple discrimination faced by Sámi persons with disabilities and gender andsexual minorities. In these two projects, the ideology of community based participatory methodswas applied as a basis for the methodological choices. This presentation will also raise somequestions concerning the application of indigenous epistemology to the research conducted by non-indigenous scholars.

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Helene PeterbauerUniversity Assistant University of Vienna, Institute of European and Comparative Language and Literature Studies, Department of Scandinavian [email protected]

When Spitsbergen Became Svalbard: Norwegian Identity Constructions in Scandinavian Literature on Svalbard

After the (semi-)successful completion of polar expeditions led by the Norwegian national heroesFridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, Norway – which became independent first of Denmark in1814, then of Sweden in 1905 – underwent a process of Norwegianization (which was largelydirected at the country’s northern territories), and of identity construction based on a new self-understanding (and self-fashioning) as a polar, and particularly Arctic nation. Since the – nowNorwegian – Arctic archipelago of Svalbard was in the process of being rediscovered economicallyand, consequently, of being renegotiated territorially when Norway achieved definitiveindependence in 1905, the islands which, according to an interpretation of diverse Old Norse texts,have been visited by Norwegians and Icelanders long before the Dutch explorer Willem Barentszrediscovered them in 1596, were recast as an originally Norwegian territory. A substantial drivingforce of this process of renegotiating the possibility of a national sovereignty over Svalbard, whichuntil 1920 was a no man’s land, was the so-called Spitsbergen Literature Lobby – a group of textspublished between 1906 and 1920, which chronicled the history of exploring and exploiting theislands, hence implicitly arguing for a national sovereignty over Svalbard based on researchactivities and on a historical continuity of exploitation. However, while the question of sovereigntyover Svalbard was legally settled in 1920 when Svalbard became a Norwegian dominion, aconsiderable body of texts – both (semi-)fictional and nonfictional – continued to debate the history

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of Svalbard. A chronological review and discussion of Scandinavian, mostly Norwegian(semi-)literary texts published in the 20th and 21st century and depicting life in Svalbard – which isthe objective and method of this contribution – suggests that 1) this continuity of a SvalbardLiterature Lobby is aimed at reinforcing, or at least discussing, a Norwegian Arctic identity usingSvalbard as a prime case study, and that 2) a great share of this identity construction is achievedthrough a process of othering directed against the other Arctic nation with a permanent presence inSvalbard, i.e. Russia.

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Andrey PetrovAssociate Professor, Department of Geography, University of Northern Iowa,President, International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA)[email protected]

Arctic’s ‘Other Economies’ and Sustainable Development: Knowledge, Creativity, and Technology in the New Arctic

The stylized notion of the Arctic’s economy as solely based on three ‘pillars:’ resources, public andtraditional sectors, is no longer nuanced enough to accommodate the growing role of Arctic’s‘other’ (non-pillar) economies prompted by the worldwide shift to tertiary and quaternary sectors.The goal of this paper is to introduce and showcase the Arctic’s ‘other economies’ and offer apatchwork of cases that illuminate various aspects of ‘other economies.’ These studies include aninvestigation of the Arctic’s knowledge economy at the circumpolar and regional scales, a study ofcultural economy and an inquiry into the relationships between ‘other’ and ‘pillar’ Arctic sectors.The paper concludes that although the volume of knowledge production in the Arctic is stillcomparatively small and economic engagement of local creativity is relatively weak, Arcticeconomic systems are evolving to increasingly incorporate these sectors. The Arctic knowledgeeconomy is characterized by the key role of individual inventor or single industry, connectedness toexternal networks vis-a-vis weak links within the Arctic, obscured relationship between formaleducation and knowledge production, an elevated role of informal skills, and remaining dependencyon boom and bust cycles in resource extraction. However, as ‘other economies’ mature, thisdependency is expected to diminish leading to a more sustainable model of development. Thus, thispaper argues that ‘other economies’ should move to the forefront of economic analysis and thestrategizing for sustainable development in the Arctic.

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Lidia RakhmanovaSociologist, social anthropologistCenter of sociological research, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg Associate member of the Sociological Institute of Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of [email protected]

Paternalistic tendencies in the northern communities of Russia: why do the projects "from above" do not meet the support from the perspective of the local population?

When we talk about European community issues, based on the principles of dialogue andparticipation, we a priori assume that dialogue is possible and the community that we are going tostudy in principle exists as a social unit. But how to conduct meaningful research, in a situationwhen a community as a form of co-action and co-existence does not exist at the local level? In the absence of the subject of dialogue, we are dealing with micro groups and nuclear familieswho are building diverse livelihood strategies. This state of affairs in the Russian north is, on theone hand, the answer to the imperfection of Russian social policy, and, on the other hand, makes itimpossible to analyze the potential resources of each territory and the community to formcompetent national and regional programs.

The tradition of groping blindly the key problems and defining the needs of the localpopulation, that emerged and is constantly instigated by the officials and administrations, leads tothe fact that people no longer believe that the real facts about everyday life can influence theadministrative decisions. This chain of errors led to the fact that the local population is profitable tocreate the illusion of scarcity and the illusion of plight in a grotesque form. For the customers ofconstruction and engineering works and the creators of a new social infrastructure, it isadvantageous to introduce the situation as deplorable at a higher administrative level, to get moreinvestment. However, basing on distorted facts and understated indicators and ignoring the realityof the situation, the administration and customers cannot correctly evaluate the nature and scope ofwork. The project expertise indicates that the project is not suitable for this area. But what projecthas to be implemented then?

It is possible and even necessary to break this chain of tricks to penetrate deeper intothe local problems. However, the illusion of plight is still too strong and as a membrane does notallow social researchers to "break through" to the zone of an open dialogue and cooperation withthe local population.

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Larissa RiabovaActing Research DirectorLuzin Institute for Economic Studies, Kola Science Centre [email protected]

Local community based research in the Arctic – the Russian perspective

The presentation will discuss the local community based approach to socio-economic research andits use in the Arctic studies. The theme will be examined from the Russian perspective. Strong focuson the local community level is typical for western socio-economic research tradition, while inRussia socio-economic studies used to concentrate on the national or regional levels. In the RussianArctic, community based socio-economic research started to develop after the fall of the “iron

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curtain”, in the mid 1990-es, being greatly inspired both by the interest from western researchers toRussia, and by the increased practical needs of Russian local communities caused by shift of manystate responsibilities to the local level. However, still focus on local community is in contradictionwith the mainstream of the Russian Arctic socio-economic studies. The presentation will highlightkey features of local community based approach as a distinctive tradition of research, investigateevolution of the concepts and methods involved in community studies and summarize the benefitsand limitations of the approach. Some specific findings received through the personal experiencesof research on the Russian Arctic communities will be shared. The talk will end up with a list of themost discussed issues in contemporary Arctic community studies debate.

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Jose Miguel Roncero MartinPhD candidateUniversity of Vienna, [email protected]

European Arctic States. Small Actors Playing Big Politics?

The Arctic is a geopolitical region divided between eight states (Canada, Denmark, Finland,Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States). Five of those countries can be identifiedas "small states," or states with limited economic, military or other capabilities; and who are alsoexpected to follow specific behaviors in geopolitical terms. During the last decade, all Arctic statesplus a number of non-Arctic countries and organizations have published their policies and strategiesfor the region. In these documents, they outline their visions and objectives for the Arctic. In linewith small states theories, the small European Arctic states presented comprehensive documentswhere multilateral, inclusive and cooperative approaches for the region were proposed.

Yet besides the policy discourses outlined in the policies and strategies, the smallEuropean Arctic states are following a "niche approach" towards specific topics, usually those ofgreater strategic relevance to them. This results in small states behaving much like big states woulddo. In addition, the historic hesitancy of the United States to fully embrace its Arctic reality hasresulted in the current global hegemon acting in a rather small state fashion when it comes to certainArctic matters. This, together with the increasing relevance of NATO in the region as well as itsimmediate limits (e.g. the Baltic area) vis-à-vis a Russia that is flexing its military muscle in otherareas of the world, is contesting some assumptions of the traditional theoretical views of smallstates. Despite the low (or almost non-existing) level of conflict in terms of state-centered securityissues, parallel political discourses are constructing a reality of confrontation (or eventuallyconflict).

In this paper, the author will review and compare the discourses for the Arctic of thesmall European states vis-à-vis the small states theories; and will analyze how some small Europeanstates are following an approach that is normally identified with that of big and more powerfulstates. This paper will contribute to showing the high level of dynamism in the Arctic, and howpolitical discourses do not necessarily construct matching geopolitical realities.

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Mirva SalminenDoctoral researcherNorthern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of [email protected]

Discourses on the digitalising Arctic

Digitalisation is, alongside climate change, the driver of change in contemporary societies. Societiesin the Arctic are no exceptions. Nevertheless, discussion on digitalisation in the Arctic has beenscant and sporadic. For example, the number of academic research papers published on the topic isrelatively low and the topic has only occasionally been on the agenda of main Arctic researchconferences. While the US chairmanship of the Arctic Council introduced the topic (under theheading of ‘telecommunications infrastructure’) to the council’s agenda, the current Finnishchairmanship programme lists ‘connectivity’ as one of the four focus areas. Thus, it could beexpected that discourses on digitalisation in the Arctic are becoming more coherent and influential.

This paper examines discourses on the digitalising Arctic with the main areal focusbeing on the European High North: What kinds of discourses do exist? Where? Led and attended bywhom? Who are not present? What do the discourses say, what do they remain silent about? Are thediscourses becoming more coherent or not? What kind of impact are they presumed to have? Theresearch is carried out by discourse analysis and it utilises five sets of data: (1) the US and Finnishchairmanship programmes and documentation available online; (2) the Arctic Economic Council’sdocuments, especially on Arctic broadband; (3) existing research literature on digitalisation in theArctic; (4) the related articles of the Independent Barents Observer; and (5) the websites of twomain Arctic subsea cable operators, Quintillion and Cinia. The data is geared towards sources thatare discussing the topic while addressing a number audiences. The main purpose of the paper is toprovide an overview of the contemporary discussion without going to the specificities of eachdiscourse. In addition, the aim is to depict the representation of the Arctic that the discoursesconvey.

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Hilma Annikki SalonenPhD studentUniversity of [email protected]

Fuel Supply Solutions in Off-Grid Areas of Sakha Republic: Networks of influence and Dependencies

The presentation introduces the initial research committed regarding different renewable energyalternatives to the fuel delivery system in the off-grid settlements of the Sakha republic in theRussian Arctic (Северный Завоз). The need for new solutions has been discussed for some time, asthe climate change and worsening road and river conditions have made the deliveries even morelengthy, difficult, and expensive, for the republic subsidizing them. In the recent years, two big,state-supported renewable energy projects have been implemented in order to alleviate the problem:the solar power station of Batagai and the wind park of Tiksi (still in construction).

The presentation looks into the networks of actors involved in the two renewableenergy projects and compares them with the Northern Delivery system in order to see, how theirstructure and the most influential actors differ – if at all. As a method, network analysis is

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introduced and discussed as a new way to identify and highlight the connections of influence andpower in a fuel supply system. With the help of digital tools, it is possible to examine structures likethis from a new view point, allowing less visible components to surface.

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Alexander SerguninProfessorSt. Petersburg State [email protected]

The Russian discourse on human security in the Arctic

This study aims to examine the Russian academic and expert debate on human security in the HighNorth.The Russian neorealist school tends to interpret human security as a component or lowest level ofnational security (individual, societal, national), equating human security to individual security.Furthermore, individual security is seen as personal safety. Personal safety is viewed by theneorealists as protection of people from physical violence, whether from the state or external states,from violent individuals and sub-state actors, or from domestic abuse.Russian neoliberalism is based on the assumption that human security is indebted to the humanrights tradition (the ideas of natural law and natural rights). This approach uses the individual as themain referent and argues that a wide range of issues (e.g., civil rights, cultural identity, access toeducation and healthcare) are fundamental to human dignity. The liberals argue that the goal ofhuman security should be to build upon and strengthen the existing global human rights legalframework. In the case of the Arctic, they focus on indigenous peoples’ rights. The Russianneoliberals are rather critical regarding the Russian government’s policies on the indigenous peoplesbecause of their ineffectiveness.

The Russian globalist school challenges both the “narrow” understanding of humansecurity as individual security suggested by the neorealists and the neoliberal legalist approach. Theglobalists tend to interpret human security as an analogy to the sustainable development concept. The Russian postpositivist school does not suggest a unified approach to human security. Forexample, postmodernism, the most radical subschool of postpositivism, heavily criticized“positivist” security concepts but did not develop any security concept of its own. Russian socialconstructivism, another postpositivist subschool, prefers to interpret human security through theidentity concept. According to this subschool, human security, which is socially constructed, can beensured only if actors’ identities are formed in a non-confrontational way. They tend to perceive theArctic as a region of peace and stability, where different identities can be reconciled andharmonized. The Russian post-colonial subschool views the northern regions as a former Russianand Soviet colony that was exploited for many decades in a predatory manner. According to thepost-colonialists, the best way to ensure human security in the region is to deindustrialize theRussian Arctic and make it a sort of a national natural reserve where the indigenous peoples’ rightsand proper living standards are secured.

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Daria ShvetsPh.D. candidateUniversitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain)[email protected]

International legal regime of submarine cables: the Arctic experience

Telecommunications play an important role in the modern world. Though the majority of peoplethink that calls, messages and internet signals are transmitted via satellites, in fact, about 95% of allinternational communications are transferred by submarine cables. These submarine cables arepresent in a great amount on the seabed of the World Ocean. Gradually they come to the Arcticbringing telecommunications facilities and connecting the Arctic regions with the rest of the world.

This paper deals with the legal regime of submarine cables under international law. Inthe first place under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, the so-called“constitution of the oceans” and subject to several other international agreements in this area. Usingthe example of the Quintillion Subsea Cable Network project which is now under construction inthe Arctic, the author will try to develop a topic of the legal regime of submarine cables, focus onexisting legal problems of this regime and show the need for an integrated approach for the futureplanned submarine cables in the Arctic.

In particular, the attention will be given to the role of non-state actors provided thatthey are not addressed by the international law. Though international law gives right to laysubmarine cables to states, in practice submarine cables are laid by private companies. This mixtureof public-private relations surrounding submarine cables and how international law shall apply tothem is subject to analysis in this paper. Taking into account that there is no internationalorganization responsible for submarine cables and the only institution dealing with them is theInternational Cable Protection Committee which is also a private entity, the role of non-bindinginstruments will be considered in the context of the legal regime of submarine cables.

To sum up, this paper aims to study a complex regime of submarine cables in theframework of legal research of the Arctic. Being a relatively new use of the Arctic territory, it isnecessary to clearly identify how submarine cables are regulated legally, especially in the light ofnew projects of submarine cables in the Arctic.

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Alexandra SmirnovaPhD student (second year)Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, [email protected]

Russian problematique in activities of Finnish and Norwegian peace organizations

This paper examines peace organizations as specific actors in the Nordic region, which bear analternative discourse about international relations. Major transformations of Finnish and Norwegianpeace organizations as well as activists’ approach to the Russian problematique in the periodbetween the 1980s and present time are analyzed on the basis of literature and interviewsconducted. Another concern is these organizations’ stance towards NATO in the given period, asthere is some interconnection between these subjects. The approach of peace organizations partiallyreflects the dynamics of internal interaction of the peace movement (especially in the case ofFinland) and is characterized by its critical stance towards NATO and a “pro-cooperation”, anti-

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militaristic discourse. At the same time, NATO and Russia issues are not the top priority of theseorganizations, as they are primarily concerned with such issues as weapons proliferation,militarism, conflict resolution (at all levels) and environmental protection.

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Svetlana TuinovaResearcherDepartment of Economic Policy & Economic Activities in Regions of High North & the Arctic, Luzin Institute for Economic Studies, Kola Science Centre of [email protected]

The dynamics of global and national factors in Russian Arctic

This abstract deliberates upon recent insights expressed in the book “Come On…” by the Club ofRome (an influential western organization comprised of individuals who share a common concernfor the worldwide future of humanity) and at the recent World Economic Forum in DAVOS (Jan2018).

The key points expressed within these communications are identified and areappraised from a Russian Federation perspective, with regard to the edicts expressed in the recentpresidential decree No 208 on the “Strategy for Economic Security of the Russian federationthrough to 2030” and Arctic Zone of Russian Federation (AZRF).

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Anna VarfolomeevaPhD CandidateDepartment of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European [email protected]

Articulations of indigeneity in two mining regions of Russia: between dominant discourses and local approaches

This paper discusses how the notions of indigeneity are experienced and articulated in the cases ofVepses in Karelia (North-West of Russia) and Soyots in Buryatia (Central Siberia), the regionswhich are equated to Far North by Russian law due to their harsh climate. The paper demonstrateshow the establishment of indigenous subjectivities is linked to the expansion of extractive industriesin the regions of study. It applies anthropological methods to analyze the environmental and socialimplications of natural resource extraction. The research is based on participant observation andsemi-structured interviews in Karelia and Buryatia conducted in 2015 – 2017, as well as newspaperanalysis.

Vepses and Soyots received indigenous status in the year 2000 after a campaigninitiated by local activists. The paper shows how the indigenous campaigns of both communities areinfluenced by dominant discourses on indigeneity. In order to retain control over their land andresources, community members need to find a state-approved way of positioning themselves. Oneof the ways to do so is the construction of indigenous identity in the firm terms defined by law: withthe elements of traditional culture, traditional ways of living, self-perception as indigenous andlinks to territory.

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At the same time, in both case studies the emergence of indigenous subjects was driven byindigenous historical experiences, local narratives, and people’s relations to the environment.Indigenous revitalization campaigns in Karelia and Buryatia coincided with rapid miningdevelopment, and being recognized as indigenous meant to have larger control over their land andresources. However, in the case of Vepses local historical connections with mining are strong, so theresidents of Vepsian villages do not perceive mining as something ultimately alien to their territoryand as a threat to traditional lifestyle; thus, their indigenous claims are mostly centered around therevival of language and culture. The residents of Okinsky district in Buryatia, on the contrary, haveless opportunities to be legally involved in resource extraction at their territory, and their notions ofindigeneity mostly deal with larger control over land and resources.

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Florian VidalPhD CandidateParis Descartes University (France)[email protected]

The Arctic as a culture pop phenomenon

In recent years, the Arctic has met an increasing interest among the general public in variouscountries, mainly in the Western countries. This Arctic appeal appears to find a new dimension farfrom the political or economic prospects. This paper aims to discuss the Arctic as a culture popphenomenon and the message which underlies both in its perception and representation.

From The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1866), an adventure novel by Jules Vernesto Norilsk (2017), a thriller by Caryl Ferey, French writers retain a long tradition for this harsh andmysterious world attracting human beings to the Pole. For the readers, it creates almost inexplicableconnection to this place. Then, the Arctic erupted as a location for questioning our civilization andits future (e.g. impacts of climate change, rush for natural resources).

Since the 2000s, the North Pole got a complete new dimension. Aside from thepolitical debate due to the climate change effects in the Arctic, it had been absorbed by theentertainment industry. Movies and TV series have emerged here and there in which the Arctic or itssuggested universe through similarities (i.e.: night, winter, cold and so on). From The Day afterTomorrow (2004) to Game of Thrones (since 2011), the Polar world is embodied often through ahidden message.

All things considered, the Arctic has been a place for an early inspiring imaginationand unique adventure. Indeed, discourses on the Arctic divert significantly either you read a novelor watch a medieval-fantasy TV show. Also this tentative proposal aims to understand what are thetrends behind this movement identified in the Western entertainment industry? Where does theopposition between the popular culture and the art elite stand? And lastly, what could it be saidabout the Artic in itself?

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Henri WallénPhD candidateFaculty of Social Sciences, University of [email protected]

From information society to cyber security: Quantitative methods for text analysis

This research project aims to understand how discourses directing the digitalisation and securing ofFinnish society have changed in pivotal strategy documents and studies from mid-1990s to thepresent. The goal is to depict the emergence, spreading, transformation and possible disappearanceof influential expressions in these discourses, as well as to examine the relationship that thediscourses construct between society and information & communication technologies. The datasetchosen consist of strategies and studies that (1) define and direct the digitalisation of Finnishsociety, (2) direct the development of different branches of government, and (3) are mentioned aspivotal documents in other strategies and studies on the topic. This presentation focuses onoutlining the research setting and the quantitative text analysis tools used. Three specific methodswere used: Inverse document term frequency analysis for describing the data, Ngram -models forcalculating term co-occurrence statistic and finally Latent Dirichlet allogation -algorithm for topicalmodeling. The analysis was conducted using open source tools.

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Gleb YarovoyAssistant ProfessorPetrozavodsk State [email protected]

Cross-border cooperation in the High North of Europe: from bureaucratic to social partnership?

Cross-border cooperation is one of the last realms of EU-Russia cooperation, where positivedevelopments overcomes the general negative international environment. Keeping the CBCprogrammes running is not an easy task in the present political conjuncture: after the Crimea crisisin 2014, tensions between Russia and the EU have been at their highest level since the end of theCold War. This has also been reflected in practices of cooperation in the High North. Although thesubnational level of cooperation shows good potentials for non-politically biased decisions, itshould be noted that regional actors, especially in Russia, tend to reproduce governance principlesand decision-making procedures usual to the traditional diplomacy, or “high politics”. In order toavoid that, the participatory governance practices allowing “social partners” from differentbackground taking part in decision-making on CBC programme design and implementation shouldbe introduced, maintained and developed.

The current EU-Russian CBC programmes in general and CBC “Karelia” and"Kolarctic" suffers from legitimacy shortage, meaning that the decision-making process in the jointmanaging bodies represents the traditional bureaucratic governance practices with almost noparticipation of “social partners”, other actors of cross-border cooperation. Since all the decisionsare made by (only) regional officials from the both sides of the border, it sometimes leads toadoption of “politically motivated” projects rather that serves to a wider societal interests (e.g. thedecision to build a new road towards a border-crossing point “Syvaoro-Parikkala”, which operatesas “temporary” border crossing point with no possibility to ordinary people to cross the border).

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This also rise a question of responsibility over the results of the CBC programmes and specificprojects in case of their failure.It is not least important that cross-border cooperation provides a suitable setting for alleviatingtensions between the neighbours. CBC programmes, being organized according to the partipatorygovernance principles, can play a specific role in creating stable structures of understandingbetween neighbours.

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Evgeny A. ZarovScientific researcherRussian federation, Khanty-Mansiysk city, Yugra state universityUNESCO chair "Environmental dynamic and global climate changes"[email protected]

GIS technics, field survey and lab approaches to the Arctic research (Taz peninsula example)

Arctic zone is a vulnerable territory with unique ecosystems because of the continuous permafrostoccurrence, low average annual temperatures and remoteness from the human infrastructure. Futureclimate changes and increasing anthropogenic impact will cause changing in this zone. Directionand degree of these changes depend on the ecosystem stability potential, i.e. how many pressure anarea may receive without losing of its homeostasis state. A stability potential assessment is adifficult issue because of ecosystem complexity where all biotic elements interconnected to eachother and to biotope. It is necessary to provide a special interdisciplinary monitoring to investigatehow the arctic ecosystems functioning. Thus, filed survey methods have to be comprehensive (i.e.significantly cover botanic, ecology, soil and hydrology fields) and combined with the laboratoryanalysis and GIS techniques. In this way it is possible to collect all data in one data base, visualise iton a map and define the main factors determining the landscape functioning differences by using amodern mathematical methods.

It was investigated the landscape structure of Taz peninsula located in West Siberiansouth tundra zone. Two key areas (40 km2 each) were chosen for detailed supervision (67°22’N,78°37’E and 68°07’N, 75°51’E). It was described the botanical composition, soil type for differenthorizons and permafrost depth, hydrological condition (pH, EC, water table depth), collected soilsamples for ash-content, bulk density, humidity and C-N concentration analysis. It was produced asatellite images (middle and high-resolution) supervised classification to describe the landscapesand its microlandscapes (i.e. elements composing each landscape).

The most abundant landscapes are dwarf shrubs tundra – 25.8 %, polygon-patternedwetland – 22 % and lichen tundra – 14 % of total area. 1/3 of C (3.8 kg/m2) and N (0.2 kg/m2) isstored in observed permafrost layer and 2/3 in seasonally thaw layer (8.5 kg/m2 of C; 0.4 kg/m2 ofN). Generally, 17 % of elements stored in mineral, 24 % - in organo-mineral and 59 % in organicsoils.On a base of this research, it was created a modern map of Taz peninsula’s tundra landscapes relatedto its vegetation cover and soil properties.

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Anastasiia V. Zarovafree photographerYugra state university,UNESCO chair "Environmental dynamic and global climate changes"freelancer of the [email protected]

Arctic nature documented in pictures

Arctic zone is located in extreme climatic conditions with low temperatures, high water-logging,permafrost presence and remoteness from civilization. All these factors together form the uniquenorth ecosystems. They play an important role in the Earth existence giving the place andconditions for living of significant number of plants, animals and birds. Thereby ensuring abiodiversity — a pledge of stability and sustainable development on our planet.But these ecosystems are extremely vulnerable due to climate change. Even small weatheroscillation may cause a disbalance of its functioning. It is known the strongest temperature increasetakes place on the high latitude during the last 100 years. It means a lot of arctic ecosystems mightbe lost in the closest future. So it is important to understand how it is functioning to prevent itsdegradation and what is its role in a global scale to avoid any undesirable consequences. It ispossible to realize by the large-scale interdisciplinary research in arctic region. Usually allinvestigation are provided by strictly scientific methods from the botany, ecology, hydrology,chemistry and soil sciences. But often one specialist can not image a general view of the ecosystembased only on scientific approaches because he can not be familiar to all disciplines. In this case thegood photo-material properly made in the research areas might be the most useful andcomprehensive information about the research site.

Pictures are the best way to present an accurate overview of the rare ecosystems. Inthis case the photo-collection is a kind of portable museum of nature. It provides an idea about thehard-to-reach places, its structure, plant and animal communities, rare species and uniquedisappearing ecosystems of far north. Pictures combined with GIS give an additional informationabout ecosystems, its distribution, presence and overview. For this moment pictures are only oneway to guaranteed save information about these territory for our future generations to let themimagination how it looks like.

In our opinion the professional photographer work is one of the important part ofinterdisciplinary approach for investigation the unique arctic zone.

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Gerald ZojerResearcher, PhD CandidateNorthern Institue for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of [email protected]

Open Source Software Solutions as a Contribution to Human Security in a DigitalisedArctic

Digitalisation significantly impacts everyday life, affecting all spheres of human security, such asthe economy, environment, or culture. For people living in relatively remote areas with distinctcharacteristics – which include dependence on traditional activities for subsistence; or beingmember of a monitory group like members of most indigenous peoples – communities are even

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more susceptible to such changes. Typically, digital technologies are developed in urban settingsand overwhelmingly target the global mass market with little interest in the specific needs of smallmarkets. Moreover, most of the code or algorithms of the big corporations leading the digitaldevelopment are proprietary and closed source, disallowing knowledge about and thus black-boxingthe used technology. While digital technologies increasingly enter the domain of traditionalactivities (such as reindeer herding, fisheries, etc.), which are important for both economic meansand local culture, Arctic inhabitants increasingly get detached from the knowledge on the usedtechnologies. On the other, increased utilisation of “southern” technologies also introduces acapitalist market ideology which transforms the social organisation in many communities.

This paper aims at finding answers to how Arctic communities can prepare themselves to takeadvantage of digitalisation and not to fall victim to its potential threats, and thus maintain societalintegrity in a digitalised world. This paper follows the hypothesis that promoting the usage anddevelopment of an open source software culture contributes to a sustainable development in theArctic. Since the traditional social organisation which can still be found among many communitiesin the Arctic is based on cooperation and sharing – an approach that can also be found in the opensource software communities – open source culture offers many similarities to local traditions andcan contribute to cultural continuities. By following an open source approach Arctic communitiescan regain ownership over the used technologies and reduce risking dependence such as throughintellectual property rights or black-boxed technologies. This paper will argue along the line of theconcept of human security how utilising an open source approach can contribute to theempowerment of Arctic communities and offers the opportunity to maintain societal integrity in adigitalised world.

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About TN on Geopolitics and Security

The Thematic Network (TN) on Geopolitics and Security, established and approved in 2009, is ajoint network by the University of the Arctic and the Northern Research Forum (NRF). The mainaim is to combine the two focus areas – Studies on Geopolitics, and Security Studies -, and based onthat to draw up a holistic picture on Arctic geopolitics and Northern security, as well as to identifyand analyze major changes of them. Another aim is to promote ’interdisciplinarity’, to implementthe interplay between research and teaching as well as the discussion between young and seniorscholars, and to promote the interplay between science and politics, and that between scientific andtraditional knowledge(s).

Research interests and themes

In the context of the Thematic Network ‘Geopolitics’ include issues, such as “How geopolitics ispresent, and implemented today in the Arctic, in general and in national strategies and policies”;“Changes in the Arctic, and major forces / drivers behind them”; Indigenous point(s) of view ofGeopolitics?”; “What is the importance and role of TNCs, and that of SOEs in the Arctic?; “Theglobalized Arctic in world politics and the global economy?”. Correspondingly, studies on‘Security’ include issues, such as “Who are subjects of (Arctic) security?”; “Military strategies anddefence policies in, and impacts of regional crises on, security of the Arctic”; ”Environmental andHuman Security in the Arctic”; ”Resource extraction, the global economy, national interests,climate change and global governance – a new Arctic (security) nexus or Arctic Paradox”.

Main goals

For to implement the aims and long-term purposes, as well as to promote interdisciplinary discourseon the two focus areas, the TN on Geopolitics and Security (see TN’s website:http://arcticpolitics.comwww.arcticpolitics.com):Firstly, publishes annually The Arctic Yearbook – the first volume was launched in November 2012and the next one in October 2016 (see: http://arcticyearbook.comwww.arcticyearbook.com);Secondly, organizes the panel Security in the Arctic at the annual Arctic Circle Assembly (inReykjavik, Iceland); co-organizes the annual international traveling symposium and doctoralschool, Calotte Academy (Inari, Finland, Kirkenes, Norway, Apatity, Russia and Kiruna, Sweden);and organizes annually 2-3 its own workshops / brainstorming meetings back-to-back tointernational conferences; Thirdly, makes initiatives for, as well as coordinates, supports and runs,international research and book projects on IR, Geopolitics and Security studies, such as “TheArctic – a region of strategies and policies. Avoiding a new Cold War” funded by the ValdaiDiscussion Club (see: Final Report at www.valdaiclub.com); “The Global Arctic”, an internationalexpert network and project, in cooperation with the NRF, and “The Handbook of the GlobalArctic”book project.

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Contacts

Head of the TN

Professor Lassi HeininenUniversity of Lapland, FinlandEmail: [email protected]. +358 40 484 4215.

Co-coordinators of the TN

PhD candidate Jussi HuotariUniversity of Helsinki, FinlandE-mail: [email protected]. +358 50 597 5292

and

Researcher, PhD candidate Gerald ZojerNorthern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, FinlandE-mail: [email protected]. +358 40 4844241.

www.arcticpolitics.com

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http://www.arcticpolitics.com/




About the Arctic Yearbook

The Arctic Yearbook is intended to be the preeminent repository of critical analysis on the Arcticregion, with a mandate to inform observers about the state of Arctic geopolitics and security. It is aninternational and interdisciplinary peer-reviewed publication, published online athttps://arcticyearbook.com to ensure wide distribution and accessibility to a variety of stakeholdersand observers.

Editors

Dr. Lassi Heininen, Professor of Arctic Politics at the University of Lapland, Finland & Chair of theNorthern Research Forum (NRF) Steering Committee, Head of UArctic-NRF Thematic Network onGeopolitics & Security.

Managing Editors:Dr. Heather Exner-Pirot, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the International Center for Northern Governanceand Dev., University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Previous Editions

Arctic Yearbook 2012: ”Arctic Policies and Strategies”Arctic Yearbook 2013: ”The Arctic of the Regions vs. the Globalized Arctic” Arctic Yearbook 2014: ”Human Capital in the North”Arctic Yearbook 2015: ”Governance and Governing”Arctic Yearbook 2016: “The Arctic Council: 20 Years of Regional Cooperation and Policyshaping”Arctic Yearbook 2017: “Change and Innovation in the Arctic: Policy, Society and Environment”Arctic Yearbook 2018: “Arctic Development in Theory and Practice”

https://www.arcticyearbook.com

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https://arcticyearbook.com/




About the GlobalArctic Project

The GlobalArctic Project is an international framework of institutions with interest and expertise onthe globalized Arctic from the Nordic region and from outside the region. It also builds on a longhistory of activities, among them Calotte Academy, Northern Research Forum, TN on Geopoliticsand Security, and Arctic Yearbook. The originality of this proposal is its global dimension whereby40 organizations worldwide are actively involved in the project.

The project considers the Arctic region in the 2010s to have become part and parcel of globalpolitical, economic, technological and environmental, as well as societal, change. Correspondingly,what happens in the Arctic has significant implications worldwide - the region is seen here as apotentially interesting laboratory / workshop of the Anthropocene. Following from this, the contextof an emerging research project, which is described in the Matrix at the website, is twofold: The 1ststage, the ‘Global > Arctic’, is to (re)define globalization and its multi-functional effects, as well asimpacts of rapid climate change, as drivers of change in the Arctic. The second stage is the ‘Arctic >Global’ identifies and explores the global implications and drivers of the globalized Arctic affectingthe rest of the globe, as well as the role the Arctic plays in world politics and the global economy.Since the ‘Anthropocene’ is already at play in the Arctic it is needed to find ways out of the oldstructures, implement resilience, and build new more sustainable policies and structures. The twomain outcomes of the project so far were a) the publication of the “Handbook of the Global Arctic”by Springer (ISBN 978-3-319-91994-2), and b) to produce the MOOC of the Global Arctic(available online at coursera.org).

https://www.globalarctic.org/

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https://www.globalarctic.org/

https://www.coursera.org/learn/global-arctic

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91995-9

Organizers and Sponsors

The Calotte Academy 2018 is co-organized by the Faculty of Social Sciences at University ofLapland, Sámi Educational Centre of Inari (from Finland); the Barents Institute at University ofTromsø – the Arctic university of Norway (from Norway); Luzin Institute for Economic Studies atKola Science Centre; and the Khibiny educational and scientific station of the Faculty of Geographyat The Lomonosov Moscow State University, in cooperation with the NRF-UArctic joint ThematicNetwork on Geopolitics and Security, the city of Rovaniemi and the Sør-Varanger municipality. TheCalotte Academy 2018 is financially supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and theInternational Arctic Science Committee.

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‘discourses on the arctic – (inter)disciplinary theories ... · the theme of the 2018 academy...

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